pack-rat

or pack·rat

[ pak-rat ]
/ ˈpækˌræt /

verb (used with object), pack-rat·ted, pack-rat·ting. Informal.

to save in the manner of a pack rat: I’m looking through the stuff my grandpa pack-ratted away in the attic.

Words nearby pack-rat

pack rolling, pack shot, pack them in, pack up, pack wall, pack-rat, pack-year, packable, package, package deal, package store

Definition for pack-rat (2 of 2)

pack rat

or pack·rat

noun

Also called trade rat, wood rat. a large, bushy-tailed rodent, Neotoma cinerea, of North America, noted for carrying off small articles to store in its nest.
Informal. a person who saves things that are not needed or used but that may have personal or other value.
Informal. an old prospector or guide.

Origin of pack rat

First recorded in 1840–50

Words related to pack-rat

collector, squirrel, accumulator, gatherer, hoarder, magpie, saver

Example sentences from the Web for pack-rat

  • The pack-rat ran back to its hole and made its exit without loss of time, but Clarice sobbed aloud in hysterical fear.

    Hope Hathaway |Frances Parker

  • Then either the pack-rat reformed into a trade-rat, or else he sold out his claim to a trade-rat.

    Friar Tuck |Robert Alexander Wason

  • A pack-rat dont care a peg whether he can use an article or not; all he asks is the privilege of totin it about somewhere.

    Friar Tuck |Robert Alexander Wason

  • A pack-rat is about three times as big as a barn rat, an fifteen times as energetic.

    Friar Tuck |Robert Alexander Wason

British Dictionary definitions for pack-rat

pack rat

noun

any rat of the genus Neotoma, of W North America, having a long tail that is furry in some species: family Cricetidae Also called: wood rat