black rat

noun

1. an Old World rat, Rattus rattus, now common in the southern U.S., having a black or brown body with grayish or white underparts.

black rat

noun

1. a common rat, Rattus rattus : a household pest that has spread from its native Asia to all countries

Word History and Origins

Origin of black rat¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Outbreaks there are associated with agriculture, deforestation, the black rat -- and fleas.

From Science Daily

Soon after their arrival, the bones suggest, brown rats began to rapidly outcompete black rats in coastal cities, eventually eating their smaller relatives out of house and home.

From Science Magazine

One probable reason they dominated, researchers suggest, is that they ate food black rats would otherwise have consumed – which may have reduced reproduction among black rats.

From Seattle Times

Although it’s twice the size of the common black rat, researchers had never been able to study it.

From Science Magazine

Invasive black rats that preyed on reptiles and ate birds' eggs, along with goats introduced by early colonists that devastated Redonda's vegetation, had left the island looking like a barren moonscape.

From BBC