Adjacent Words

Rat definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RAT, n. [Probably named from gnawing, and from the root of L. rodo.]
A small quadruped of the genus Mus, which infests houses, stores and ships; a troublesome race of animals.
To smell a rat, to be suspicious, to be on the watch from suspicion; as a cat by the scent or noise of a rat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
2: someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike [syn: scab, strikebreaker, blackleg, rat]
3: 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'" [syn: rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, git]
4: one who reveals confidential information in return for money [syn: informer, betrayer, rat, squealer, blabber]
5: a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure v
1: desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage
2: employ scabs or strike breakers in
3: take the place of work of someone on strike [syn: fink, scab, rat, blackleg]
4: give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat
5: catch rats, especially with dogs
6: give away information about somebody; "He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: denounce, tell on, betray, give away, rat, grass, shit, shop, snitch, stag]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English rĉt; akin to Old High German ratta rat and perhaps to Latin rodere to gnaw — more at rodent Date: before 12th century 1. a. any of numerous rodents (Rattus and related genera) differing from the related mice especially by considerably larger size b. any of various similar rodents 2. a contemptible person: as a. one who betrays or deserts friends or associates b. scab 3b c. informer 2 3. a pad over which a woman's hair is arranged 4. a person who spends much time in a specified place <a mall rat> • ratlike adjective II. verb (ratted; ratting) Date: 1812 intransitive verb 1. to betray, desert, or inform on one's associates — usually used with on 2. to catch or hunt rats 3. to work as a scab transitive verb 1. to give (hair) the effect of greater quantity (as by use of a rat) 2. to inform on ; turn in — usually used with out <ratted out his accomplice>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a any of several rodents of the genus Rattus (brown rat). b any similar rodent (muskrat; water-rat). 2 a deserter from a party, cause, difficult situation, etc.; a turncoat (from the superstition that rats desert a sinking ship). 3 colloq. an unpleasant person. 4 a worker who refuses to join a strike, or who blacklegs. 5 (in pl.) sl. an exclamation of contempt, annoyance, etc. --v.intr. (ratted, ratting) 1 (of a person or dog) hunt or kill rats. 2 colloq. desert a cause, party, etc. 3 (foll. by on) a betray; let down. b inform on. Phrases and idioms: rat-catcher a person who rids buildings of rats etc. rat kangaroo Austral. any of various small ratlike marsupials of the family Potoroidae, having kangaroo-like hind limbs for jumping. rat race a fiercely competitive struggle for position, power, etc. rat's tail a thing shaped like a rat's tail, e.g. a tapering cylindrical file. rat-tail 1 the grenadier fish. 2 a horse with a hairless tail. 3 such a tail. rat-tail (or -tailed) spoon a spoon with a tail-like moulding from the handle to the back of the bowl. Etymology: OE ræt & OF rat

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rat Rat, n. [AS. r[ae]t; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. r[*a]tta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf. Raccoon.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) One of the 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. Alexandrinus). These were introduced into Anerica from the Old World. 2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair. [Local, U.S.] 3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union. [Cant] Note: ``It so chanced that, not long after the accession of the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is the German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this country (in some timber as is said); and being much stronger than the black, or, till then, the common, rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter. The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first, as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the government of George the First, but has by degrees obtained a wide meaning, and come to be applied to any sudden and mercenary change in politics.'' --Lord Mahon. Bamboo rat (Zo["o]l.), any Indian rodent of the genus Rhizomys. Beaver rat, Coast rat. (Zo["o]l.) See under Beaver and Coast. Blind rat (Zo["o]l.), the mole rat. Cotton rat (Zo["o]l.), a long-haired rat (Sigmodon hispidus), native of the Southern United States and Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious to the crop. Ground rat. See Ground Pig, under Ground. Hedgehog rat. See under Hedgehog. Kangaroo rat (Zo["o]l.), the potoroo. Norway rat (Zo["o]l.), the common brown rat. See Rat. Pouched rat. (Zo["o]l.) (a) See Pocket Gopher, under Pocket. (b) Any African rodent of the genus Cricetomys. Rat Indians (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to Athabascan stock. Rat mole. (Zo["o]l.) See Mole rat, under Mole. Rat pit, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be killed by a dog for sport. Rat snake (Zo["o]l.), a large colubrine snake (Ptyas mucosus) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc. Spiny rat (Zo["o]l.), any South America rodent of the genus Echinomys. To smell a rat. See under Smell. Wood rat (Zo["o]l.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially N. Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rat Rat, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ratted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ratting.] 1. 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. Coleridge . . . incurred the reproach of having ratted, solely by his inability to follow the friends of his early days. --De Quincey. 2. To catch or kill rats.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rats, ratting, ratted) 1. A rat is an animal which has a long tail and looks like a large mouse. This was demonstrated in a laboratory experiment with rats. N-COUNT 2. If you call someone a rat, you mean that you are angry with them or dislike them, often because they have cheated you or betrayed you. (INFORMAL) What did you do with the gun you took from that little rat Turner? N-COUNT [disapproval] 3. If someone rats on you, they tell someone in authority about things that you have done, especially bad things. (INFORMAL) They were accused of encouraging children to rat on their parents. VERB: V on n 4. If someone rats on an agreement, they do not do what they said they would do. (INFORMAL) She claims he ratted on their divorce settlement. VERB: V on n 5. If you smell a rat, you begin to suspect or realize that something is wrong in a particular situation, for example that someone is trying to deceive you or harm you. If I don't send a picture, he will smell a rat... PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Desert one's party (from interested motives), bolt.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A drunken man or woman taken up by the watch, and confined in the, watch-house. Cant. To smell a rat; to suspect some intended trick, or unfair design.

Moby Thesaurus

Angora goat, Arctic fox, Belgian hare, Benedict Arnold, Brutus, Caffre cat, Indian buffalo, Judas, Judas Iscariot, Kodiak bear, Quisling, SOB, Virginia deer, aardvark, aardwolf, alpaca, anteater, antelope, antelope chipmunk, aoudad, apar, apostate, apostatize, archtraitor, armadillo, ass, aurochs, babble, badger, bandicoot, bassarisk, bastard, bat, be indiscreet, be unguarded, bear, bear witness against, beaver, betray, betray a confidence, betrayer, bettong, binturong, bison, blab, blabber, black bear, black buck, black cat, black fox, black sheep, blackleg, blow the whistle, blue fox, blurt, blurt out, bobcat, bolt, break away, brown bear, brush deer, brush wolf, buffalo, buffalo wolf, bugger, burro, burro deer, cachalot, camel, camelopard, capybara, carabao, caribou, carpincho, cat, cat-a-mountain, catamount, cattalo, cavy, chamois, cheetah, chevrotain, chignon, chinchilla, chipmunk, cinnamon bear, cockatrice, conniver, conspirator, conspirer, coon, coon cat, cotton mouse, cotton rat, cougar, cow, coyote, coypu, creep, cur, deer, deer tiger, defect, defector, desert, dingo, dog, donkey, dormouse, double agent, double-crosser, double-dealer, dromedary, echidna, eland, elephant, elk, ermine, eyra, fall, fallow deer, false hair, fart, ferret, field mouse, fink, fisher, fitch, flying phalanger, foumart, fox, fox squirrel, gazelle, gemsbok, genet, giraffe, give away, glutton, gnu, gnu goat, goat, goat antelope, gopher, grizzly bear, ground squirrel, groundhog, guanaco, guinea pig, hamster, hare, harnessed antelope, hartebeest, hedgehog, heel, hippopotamus, hog, hood, hooligan, horse, hyena, hyrax, ibex, inform, inform against, inform on, informer, intrigant, intriguer, jackal, jackass, jackrabbit, jaguar, jaguarundi, jerboa, jerboa kangaroo, jerk, kaama, kangaroo, kangaroo mouse, kangaroo rat, karakul, kinkajou, kit fox, koala, lapin, leak, lemming, leopard, leopard cat, let down, let drop, let fall, let slip, lion, llama, louse, lynx, machinator, mammoth, mara, marmot, marten, mastodon, meanie, meerkat, mink, mole, mongoose, moose, mother, mouflon, mountain goat, mountain lion, mountain sheep, mouse, mule, mule deer, muntjac, musk deer, musk hog, musk-ox, muskrat, musquash, narc, nark, nilgai, nutria, ocelot, okapi, onager, oont, opossum, otter, ounce, ox, pack rat, painter, panda, pangolin, panther, peach, peccary, peludo, phalanger, pig, pill, pine mouse, platypus, plotter, pocket gopher, pocket mouse, pocket rat, polar bear, polar fox, polecat, porcupine, possum, pouched rat, poyou, prairie dog, prairie wolf, prick, pronghorn, pull out, puma, quisling, rabbit, raccoon, recreant, red deer, red squirrel, reindeer, renounce, repudiate, reveal a secret, rhinoceros, roe, roe deer, roebuck, run out on, runagate, sable, scab, schemer, scum, secede, sell out, serpent, serval, sheep, shit, shithead, shitheel, shrew, shrew mole, sika, silver fox, sing, skunk, sloth, snake, snitch, snitch on, snowshoe rabbit, spill, spill the beans, springbok, squeak, squeal, squirrel, stinkard, stinker, stoat, stool, strikebreaker, suslik, swamp rabbit, swine, switch, takin, talk, tamandua, tamarin, tapir, tarpan, tatou, tatou peba, tatouay, tattle, tattle on, tell on, tell secrets, tell tales, tergiversate, tergiversator, testify against, tiger, tiger cat, timber wolf, timeserver, toad, traitor, treasonist, tree shrew, trimmer, turd, turn, turn informer, turnabout, turncoat, urus, vole, wallaby, warthog, water buffalo, waterbuck, weasel, wharf rat, whistler, white fox, wild ass, wild boar, wild goat, wild ox, wildcat, wildebeest, wolf, wolverine, wombat, wood rat, woodchuck, woolly mammoth, yak, zebra, zebu, zoril