• Rat

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: răt, IPA: /ɹæt/
    • Rhymes: -æt

    Origin

    From Middle English rat, rotte, from Old English ræt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *ratō (compare West Frisian rôt, Dutch rat, dialectal German Ratz), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- ("to scrape") (compare Welsh rhathu ("to grate, rasp"), Latin rōdō ("to gnaw"), rōstrum ("beak, prow"), Middle Persian randītan ("to scrape, smooth"), Sanskrit rádati ("he gnaws, cuts")).

    Full definition of rat

    Noun

    rat

    (plural rats)
    1. (zoology) A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.
      • 2013, Charles T. Ambrose, Alzheimer’s Disease, Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.
    2. (informal) A term indiscriminately applied to numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) having bodies longer than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
    3. (informal) A person who is known for betrayal; a scoundrel; a quisling.
    4. What a rat, leaving us stranded here!
    5. (informal) An informant or snitch.
    6. (slang) A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.
      Our teenager has become a mall rat.
      He loved hockey and was a devoted rink rat.
    7. Scab.
    8. (north-west London, slang) Vagina.
      Get your rat out.
    9. A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Terms derived from rat (noun)

    Verb

    1. (usually with “on” or “out”) To betray someone and tell their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in, bewray.He ratted on his coworker.He is going to rat us out!
    2. (of a dog, etc.) To kill rats.

    Synonyms

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