rat

[ rat ]

noun

1. any of several long-tailed rodents of the family Muridae, of the genus Rattus and related genera, distinguished from the mouse by being larger.
2. any of various mammals similar to or related to the long-tailed rodents of the genus Rattus.
3. Slang. a scoundrel.
4. Slang.
   1. a person who abandons or betrays their party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
   2. an informer.
   3. a scab laborer.
5. Slang. a person who frequents a specified place: gym rats.

   a mall rat;

   gym rats.

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

interjection

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

verb (used without object)

, rat·ted, rat·ting.

1. Slang.
   1. to desert one's party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
   2. to turn informer; squeal:

      He ratted on the gang, and the police arrested them.

   3. to work as a scab.
2. to hunt or catch rats.

verb (used with object)

, rat·ted, rat·ting.

1. to make (the hair) appear thicker by use of a small pad of material or by teasing.

verb phrase

1. Slang. to inform on:

   He ratted out his partners in exchange for a lighter sentence.

rat

/ ræt /

noun

1. 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
2. informal.
   a person who deserts his or her friends or associates, esp in time of trouble
3. informal.
   a worker who works during a strike; blackleg; scab
4. slang.
   an informer; stool pigeon
5. informal.
   a despicable person
6. smell a rat
   to detect something suspicious

verb

1. informal.
   intrusually foll byon
   1. to divulge secret information (about); betray the trust (of)
   2. to default (on); abandon

      he ratted on the project at the last minute

2. to hunt and kill rats

Derived Forms

• ˈratˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• rat·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rat¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rat¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing rat

• like a drowned rat
• smell a rat

Example Sentences

No one likes to admit it, but there’s also a serious rat problem in them there hills.

From Los Angeles Times

The following month, Barnett allegedly retaliated against Guimaraes by tearing down pictures of his children in his locker, calling him a “rat” around the station and questioning the validity of Guimaraes’ medical disability.

From Los Angeles Times

He and his brother were "street rats" and, when he strayed into the wrong neighbourhood at the age of seven, a rival gang member "nailed my hand to a fence".

From BBC

During the visit, the migrants walked the court through military tents they have been living in, pointing out damp, tears in the canvas, droppings, and a rats’ nest above one of the beds.

From BBC

And as Musselman saw it, that meant playing this season like “sewer rats,” scratching and clawing their way through the Big Ten.

From Los Angeles Times