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 rat

One rat had once fallen on his head, he said, during a rat raid of a local home.

The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark |Liza Foreman |October 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Since rat root comes from a plant that grows on the edge of the lake there are concerns that the plant is carrying toxins.

Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero |Darren Aronofsky |September 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A cabin filled with the Rat Pack and the ladies who loved them.

Frank Sinatra and the Birth of the Jet Set |William Stadiem |August 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Not that the Rat Pack party days were completely behind him.

Frank Sinatra and the Birth of the Jet Set |William Stadiem |August 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

A flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, from an infected little mammal—usually a rat—can hop from the dying rat onto a human and bite it.

It’s Not Time to Worry About China’s Plague Just Yet |Kent Sepkowitz |July 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Giddings ran, the Rat River call echoing again down the hall behind him.

Held for Orders |Frank H. Spearman
Me tink pilot smell a rat, for ebery time he hear a noise on deck he come out of his cabin and look round.

By Sheer Pluck |G. A. Henty
Rat me, if I had not misgivings that it might prove to be so.

Micah Clarke |Arthur Conan Doyle
A rat will push down his tail into the tall-shaped bottle of preserves, and lick it after he has pulled it out.

Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, No. 701 |Various
I sat in the boat stripped and shivering, for shipwreck seemed certain, and I did not wish to be drowned like a rat.

An Australian in China |George Ernest Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for rat

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 rat

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 rat

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 rat

British Dictionary definitions for rat

noun

verb rats, ratting or ratted

Derived forms of rat

Word Origin for rat

Medical definitions for rat

n.

Idioms and Phrases with 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

Words related to rat

Example sentences from the Web for rat

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for rat

noun

verb rats, ratting or ratted

Derived forms of rat

Word Origin for rat

Medical definitions for rat

n.

Idioms and Phrases with rat

British Dictionary definitions for rat