What does rat mean?
Definitions for rat
rætrat
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word rat.
Princeton's WordNet
ratnoun
any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
scab, strikebreaker, blackleg, ratnoun
someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, gitnoun
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
"only a rotter would do that"; "kill the rat"; "throw the bum out"; "you cowardly little pukes!"; "the British call a contemptible person a `git'"
informer, betrayer, rat, squealer, blabbernoun
one who reveals confidential information in return for money
ratverb
a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure
ratverb
desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage
ratverb
employ scabs or strike breakers in
fink, scab, rat, blacklegverb
take the place of work of someone on strike
ratverb
give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat
ratverb
catch rats, especially with dogs
denounce, tell on, betray, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stagverb
give away information about somebody
"He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam"
GCIDE
Ratnoun
(Zool.) One of several species of small rodents of the genus Rattus (formerly included in Mus) and allied genera, of the family Muridae, distinguished from mice primarily by being larger. They infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway rat, also called brown rat, (Rattus norvegicus formerly Mus decumanus), the black rat (Rattus rattus formerly Mus rattus), and the roof rat (formerly Mus Alexandrinus, now included in Rattus rattus). These were introduced into America from the Old World. The white rat used most commonly in laboratories is primarily a strain derived from Rattus rattus.
Ratverb
To be an informer (against an associate); to inform (on an associate); to squeal; -- used commonly in the phrase to rat on.
Wiktionary
ratnoun
Any of about 56 different species of small, omnivorous rodents belonging to the genus Rattus.
ratnoun
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.
ratnoun
A person who is known for betrayal; a scoundrel.
What a rat, leaving us stranded here!
ratnoun
An informant or snitch
ratnoun
A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.
ratnoun
Scab
ratnoun
North West London slang term for vagina, as in get your rat out.
ratnoun
A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.
ratverb
to betray someone and tell their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in, bewray.
ratverb
To kill rats.
Etymology: From rat, rotte, from ræt, from rattaz (cf. West Frisian rôt, Dutch rat, German dialect Ratz), from Hreh₃d- (cf. Welsh rhathu ‘to grate, rasp’, rodo, rostrum ‘beak, prow’, Middle Persian ‘to scrape, smooth’, Sanskrit ‘he gnaws, cuts’).
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Ratnoun
An animal of the mouse kind that infests houses and ships.
Etymology: ratte, Dutch; rat, Fr. ratta, Spanish.
Our natures do pursue,
Like rats that ravin down their proper bane. William Shakespeare.Make you ready your stiff bats and clubs,
Rome and her rats are at the point of battle. William Shakespeare.I have seen the time, with my long sword I would have made you four tall fellows skip like rats. William Shakespeare.
Thus horses will knable at walls, and rats will gnaw iron. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.
If in despair he goes out of the way like a rat with a dose of arsenick, why he dies nobly. John Dennis.
Wikipedia
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus Rattus. Other rat genera include Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot rats) and Dipodomys (kangaroo rats). Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Usually the common name of a large muroid rodent will include the word "rat", while a smaller muroid's name will include "mouse". The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. There are 56 known species of rats in the world.
ChatGPT
rat
A rat is a small or medium-sized rodent species, typically characterized by a long tail and sharp teeth used for gnawing. They belong to the superfamily Muroidea and are found worldwide. Rats are often associated with dirt and disease due to their tendency to live in human habitations and their role in spreading plagues. There are many species of rats, including the common types like brown rat and black rat. Despite their bad reputation, they are also used as laboratory animals for testing in the field of biology and psychology, and can make intelligent and affectionate pets.
Webster Dictionary
Ratnoun
one of several species of small rodents of the genus Mus and allied genera, larger than mice, that infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway, or brown, rat (M. decumanus), the black rat (M. rattus), and the roof rat (M. Alexandrinus). These were introduced into America from the Old World
Ratnoun
a round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair
Ratnoun
one who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union
Ratverb
in English politics, to desert one's party from interested motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on other conditions, than those established by a trades union
Ratverb
to catch or kill rats
Etymology: [AS. rt; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. rtta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf. Raccoon.]
Wikidata
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats. Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size; rats are generally large muroid rodents, while mice are generally small muroid rodents. The muroid family is very large and complex, and the common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Generally, when someone discovers a large muroid, its common name includes the term rat, while if it is small, the name includes the term mouse. Scientifically, the terms are not confined to members of the Rattus and Mus genera, for example, the pack rat and cotton mouse.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Rat
rat, n. an animal of the genus Mus, larger and more destructive than the mouse: a renegade, turncoat: a workman who accepts lower than the authorised wages, who declines to join in a strike, or who takes a striker's work: a roll of anything used to puff out the hair which is turned over it.—v.i. (coll.) to desert one's party and join their opponents for gain or power: to take lower than current wages, to refuse to join in a strike, to take a striker's place:—pr.p. rat′ting; pa.p. and pa.t. rat′ted.—ns. Rat′-catch′er, one whose business it is to catch rats; Rat′-catch′ing; Rat′-hole (print.), a pigeon-hole; Rat′-pit, an enclosure where rats are killed; Rat′-poi′son, a preparation of arsenic; Rat's′-bane, poison for rats: arsenious acid; Rat′-tail, an excrescence growing on a horse's leg.—adj. Rat′-tailed, having a tail like a rat.—ns. Rat′ter, a terrier which catches rats; Rat′tery, apostasy; Rat′ting, deserting one's principles: working for less than the usual prices: setting a dog to kill rats in a pit; Rat′-trap, a trap for catching rats.—Rat-tailed larva, the larva of certain syrphid flies.—Smell a rat, to have a suspicion. [A.S. ræt; Ger. ratte.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
rat
A term for one who changes his party for interest: from rats deserting vessels about to sink. These mischievous vermin are said to have increased after the economical expulsion of cats from our dockyards. Thus, in the petition from the ships-in-ordinary, to be allowed to go to sea, even to carry passengers, we read:-- "Tho' it was hemigrants or sodgers-- Anything afore them rats, Which now they is our only lodgers; For well they knows, the artful dodgers, The Board won't stand th' expense of cats." Injury done by rats is not included in a policy of insurance. Also, a rapid stream or race, derived from sharp rocks beneath, which injure the cable.
Rap Dictionary
ratverb
To betray. "Why did Judas rat to Romans while Jesus slept?" -- Genius (4th chamber)
ratverb
A snitch.
Suggested Resources
rat
Song lyrics by rat -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by rat on the Lyrics.com website.
RAT
What does RAT stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the RAT acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
RAT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rat is ranked #146201 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Rat surname appeared 113 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Rat.
60.1% or 68 total occurrences were White.
20.3% or 23 total occurrences were Asian.
15% or 17 total occurrences were Black.
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'rat' in Nouns Frequency: #1603
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for rat »
art
Art
RTA
tar
tra
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of rat in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of rat in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of rat in a Sentence
For all these successes in the past two years I had to be ready to withstand a lot and also put up with a lot, from the rat poem to the proximity to radical right-wing groups and the 'isolated incidents' that kept coming back, there were many situations in which I found it very difficult to swallow all that.
When you're in this rat race for the presidential election, that's a very tough thing, he's set his life aside to do something he believes in. ... It's a very selfless act.
If you see a rat, you should assume it has some sort of pathogen.
The capybaras are the highlight of our zoo, so we're taking the Year of the Rat as an opportunity to push their popularity up even more, we're really hoping that this will catch on with people from all over the world visiting Japan too.
What we know from the pilot is that we have the ability to crash a rat population by 80 to 90 percent.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for rat
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- rotAfrikaans
- جرذ, فأرArabic
- achakuAymara
- siçovulAzerbaijani
- пацукBelarusian
- плъхBulgarian
- ইঁদুরBengali
- razhBreton
- rata, delatar, rat, acuarCatalan, Valencian
- krysa, potkanCzech
- llygoden fawrWelsh
- rotteDanish
- Ratte, Rattenmännchen, Rättin, Ratz, Rattenweibchen, RatzeGerman
- αρουραίοςGreek
- virrato, rato, ratido, ratino, ratiĉoEsperanto
- rata, chivar, delatarSpanish
- rottEstonian
- arratoiBasque
- موشPersian
- antaa ilmi, petturi, rotta, kannellaFinnish
- kalavoFijian
- rottaFaroese
- rat d'égout, rat, moucharder, souris, rat noir, cafter, rat gris, surmulot, RÄT --> RATFrench
- rôtWestern Frisian
- francach, luchóg mhor, luch francach, francach dubh, rätIrish
- radanScottish Gaelic
- rataGalician
- roddan, treigManx
- चूहाHindi
- patkányHungarian
- շիկամուկ, առնետArmenian
- ratta, rattoInterlingua
- tikusIndonesian
- ratino, ratulo, rato, ratyunoIdo
- rottaIcelandic
- spia, fare la spia, cantare, traditore, ratto, sorcio, pentito, spifferare, topo, delatoreItalian
- ラット, ネズミ, 鼠, 熊鼠, クマネズミ, ねずみJapanese
- werokJavanese
- ვირთხაGeorgian
- егеуқұйрықKazakh
- កណ្ដុរប្រែងKhmer
- ಇಲಿKannada
- 쥐Korean
- арчычканKyrgyz
- mūsLatin
- RatLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- ໜູLao
- žiurkėLithuanian
- žurkaLatvian
- kioreMāori
- стаор, стаорецMacedonian
- എലിMalayalam
- босуул, оргодолMongolian
- उंदिरMarathi
- tikusMalay
- farMaltese
- ကြွက်Burmese
- rotteNorwegian
- bruine rat, rioolrat, rat, zwarte ratDutch
- rotteNorwegian Nynorsk
- rotteNorwegian
- łéʼétsohNavajo, Navaho
- rat, garriOccitan
- szczurPolish
- ratoPortuguese
- șobolanRomanian
- доносить, предатель, крыса, пасюк, предательница, стучатьRussian
- musSardinian
- roahttuNorthern Sami
- pacov, штакор, пацов, štakorSerbo-Croatian
- ලොකු මීයාSinhala, Sinhalese
- potkan, krysaSlovak
- podganaSlovene
- 'ioleSamoan
- miu i gjirizeveAlbanian
- råttaSwedish
- panyaSwahili
- எலிTamil
- ఎలుకTelugu
- мушTajik
- หนูThai
- alakaTurkmen
- dagaTagalog
- pebaTswana
- kumāTonga (Tonga Islands)
- sıçanTurkish
- күсеTatar
- щур, пацюкUkrainian
- چوهاUrdu
- kalamushUzbek
- chuộtVietnamese
- hirat, rat, jirat, ratülVolapük
- kañaWolof
- שטשור, ראַץYiddish
- 鼠Chinese
Get even more translations for rat »
Translation
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