rat

[ rat ]

/ ræt /

noun

any of several long-tailed rodents of the family Muridae, of the genus Rattus and related genera, distinguished from the mouse by being larger.

any of various similar or related animals.

Slang. a scoundrel.

Slang.

a person who abandons or betrays his or her party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
an informer.
a scab laborer.

Slang. a person who frequents a specified place: a mall rat; gym rats.

a pad with tapered ends formerly used in women's hair styles to give the appearance of greater thickness.

interjection

rats, Slang. (an exclamation of disappointment, disgust, or disbelief.)

verb (used without object), rat·ted, rat·ting.

Slang.

to desert one's party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
to turn informer; squeal: He ratted on the gang, and the police arrested them.
to work as a scab.

to hunt or catch rats.

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

to dress (the hair) with or as if with a rat.

Idioms for rat

smell a rat, to suspect or surmise treachery; have suspicion: After noting several discrepancies in his client's story, the attorney began to smell a rat.

Origin of rat

before 1000; Middle English rat(t)e, Old English ræt; cognate with Dutch rat, German Ratz, Ratte

OTHER WORDS FROM rat

rat·like, adjective

Words nearby rat

rastafarian, rastafarianism, raster, rastle, rasure, rat, rat cheese, rat claw foot, rat guard, rat islands, rat kangaroo

Example sentences from the Web for rats

And in a city with large slums and poor sanitation, rats can thrive easily, fleas and all, to spread the plague.

Bubonic Plague Is Back (but It Never Really Left) |Kent Sepkowitz |November 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The researchers first isolated a set of cells known as neural stem cells (NSCs) from the brains of rats.

Fish Oil, Turmeric, and Ginseng, Oh My! Are ‘Brain Foods’ B.S.? |Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD |October 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
“Did you want to know about rats,” he asked, finally, as we walk down the hill to drink tea in his living room.

The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark |Liza Foreman |October 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The results: Even moderate MDMA doses in conditions that mimic hot, crowded, social settings could be lethal to rats.

Why Molly Is Especially Deadly at Summer Music Festivals |Abby Haglage |June 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

So, they randomly select a poor villager and strap a bucket of rats against his chest.

Game of Thrones’ 8 Most Gruesome Deaths: From The Mountain’s Exploding Head Kill to Rat Torture |Marlow Stern |June 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Like rats, mice appear to act in companies, either under leadership or by common consent.

Natural History in Anecdote |Various
This species is found almost exclusively in salt marshes, where they skulk about like rats.

Bird Guide |Chester A. Reed
He saw himself a stowaway hidden in a hold, alone with rats and ships' biscuits.

The Prophet of Berkeley Square |Robert Hichens
A lovely way to spend Christmas shut in like rats in a trap!

A Lover in Homespun |F. Clifford Smith
The Rats had developed a device that could make a star temporarily unstable, and they were ready to use it on Sol.

The Measure of a Man |Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for rats (1 of 2)

rats

/ (ræts) /

interjection

an exclamation of rejection or disdain

adjective

Australian slang deranged; insane

British Dictionary definitions for rats (2 of 2)

rat

/ (ræt) /

noun

any of numerous long-tailed murine rodents, esp of the genus Rattus, that are similar to but larger than mice and are now distributed all over the world See also brown rat, black rat

informal a person who deserts his or her friends or associates, esp in time of trouble

informal a worker who works during a strike; blackleg; scab

slang, mainly US an informer; stool pigeon

informal a despicable person

smell a rat to detect something suspicious

verb rats, ratting or ratted

(intr usually foll by on) informal

to divulge secret information (about); betray the trust (of)
to default (on); abandonhe ratted on the project at the last minute

to hunt and kill rats

Derived forms of rat

ratlike, adjective

Word Origin for rat

Old English rætt; related to Old Saxon ratta, Old High German rato

Medical definitions for rats

rat

[ răt ]

n.

Any of various long-tailed rodents of the genus Rattus and related genera, including certain strains used in scientific research and certain species that are vectors for various diseases.

Idioms and Phrases with rats

rat

In addition to the idioms beginning with rat

rat on
rat race

also see:

like a drowned rat
smell a rat

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

rat

noun

interjection

verb (used without object), rat·ted, rat·ting.

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

Idioms for rat

Origin of rat

OTHER WORDS FROM rat

Words nearby rat

Example sentences from the Web for rats

British Dictionary definitions for rats (1 of 2)

interjection

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for rats (2 of 2)

noun

verb rats, ratting or ratted

Derived forms of rat

Word Origin for rat

Medical definitions for rats

n.

Idioms and Phrases with rats

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

rat

noun

interjection

verb (used without object), rat·ted, rat·ting.

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

Idioms for rat

Origin of rat

OTHER WORDS FROM rat

Words nearby rat

Words related to rats

Example sentences from the Web for rats

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for rats (1 of 2)

interjection

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for rats (2 of 2)

noun

verb rats, ratting or ratted

Derived forms of rat

Word Origin for rat

Medical definitions for rats

n.

Idioms and Phrases with rats

British Dictionary definitions for rats (1 of 2)