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rat
[ rat ]
noun
- any of several long-tailed rodents of the family Muridae, of the genus Rattus and related genera, distinguished from the mouse by being larger.
- any of various mammals similar to or related to the long-tailed rodents of the genus Rattus.
- Slang. a scoundrel.
- Slang.
- a person who abandons or betrays their party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
- an informer.
- a scab laborer.
- Slang. a person who frequents a specified place: gym rats.
a mall rat;
gym rats.
- a pad with tapered ends formerly used in women's hairstyles to give the appearance of greater thickness.
interjection
- rats, Slang. (an exclamation of disappointment, disgust, or disbelief.)
verb (used without object)
- Slang.
- to desert one's party or associates, especially in a time of trouble.
- to turn informer; squeal:
He ratted on the gang, and the police arrested them.
- to work as a scab.
- to hunt or catch rats.
verb (used with object)
- to make (the hair) appear thicker by use of a small pad of material or by teasing.
verb phrase
- Slang. to inform on:
He ratted out his partners in exchange for a lighter sentence.
rat
/ æ /
noun
- informal.a person who deserts his or her friends or associates, esp in time of trouble
- informal.a worker who works during a strike; blackleg; scab
- slang.an informer; stool pigeon
- informal.a despicable person
- smell a ratto detect something suspicious
verb
- informal.intrusually foll byon
- to divulge secret information (about); betray the trust (of)
- to default (on); abandon
he ratted on the project at the last minute
- to hunt and kill rats
Derived Forms
- ˈˌ, adjective
Other Word Forms
- · adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of rat1
Word History and Origins
Origin of rat1
Idioms and Phrases
- 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
A single rat has forced the closure of a school in Aberdeenshire for a week.
"The rats, the squeaky blinders, do continue to roam freely in the streets of Britain's second city," she said.
Naked mole rats are unique mammals in many respects.
Nearly everyone I have spoken to has their own "rat" story.
So when I say I’m a rink rat, I’m really a rink rat.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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