wharf rat

noun

1. a large brown rat that is commonly found on wharves.
2. a person who lives or loiters near wharves, often existing by pilfering from ships or warehouses.

wharf rat

noun

1. any rat, usually a brown rat, that infests wharves
2. informal.
   a person who haunts wharves, usually for dishonest purposes

Word History and Origins

Origin of wharf rat¹

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

There is the misnamed Norway rat — also called the brown, sewer or wharf rat — actually a native from northern China or Mongolia.

From Seattle Times

“You’re wetter than a wharf rat,” he says, but she just mutters, “Keep watching...keep watching...”

From Literature

Soon, these “wharf rats,” among the region’s poorest and most exploited workers, became “lords of the docks,” commanding the highest wages and best conditions of any blue-collar worker in the region.

From Salon

Like many children in fishing villages, O'Brien was a "wharf rat", making pocket money cutting out and selling cod tongues by the dozen or the pound.

From BBC

Campbell’s daughter Charlotte, a wharf rat, was often aboard.

From Seattle Times