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rat

UK/ɹat/ US/ɹæt/ common informal slang uk us
noun (5) verb (6)

noun

1.

any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse

2.

someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike

Synonyms
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”
  • “'”
Synonyms
4.
5.

a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman''s coiffure

verb

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

Synonyms
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”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English raat, rat, ratt, ratte, rotte, from Old English ræt, rætt, from Proto-West Germanic *ratt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (“rat”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to gnaw, scrape, scratch”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern Europe in antiquity, and the Proto-Germanic word may have referred to a different animal; see *rattaz for more. Attestation of this family of words begins in the 12th century. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian root (“rat”), Saterland Frisian Rotte (“rat”), West Frisian rôt (“rat”), Dutch rat, rot (“rat”), German Ratte (“rat”), Luxembourgish Rat (“rat”), Vilamovian rot, rott (“rat”), Yiddish ראַץ (rats, “rat”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål rotte (“rat”), Faroese and Icelandic rotta (“rat”), Norwegian Nynorsk rotta, rotte, røtte (“rat”), Swedish råtta (“rat”), Latin rattus, ratus (“rat”) (whence Asturian ratu (“mouse”), Catalan rata (“rat”), French rat (“rat”), Italian ratto (“rat”), Portuguese rato (“rat”), Spanish rata (“rat”), rato (“male rat”)); also Latin rōdō (“to bite, gnaw, nibble; to backbite, disparage, slander”), Sanskrit रदति (radati, “to scrape, scratch; to cut path, pave...

Phrases

  • Alexandrine rat Terms derived from rat
  • Ankole African mole-rat Terms derived from rat
  • armored rat Terms derived from rat
  • Asian black rat Terms derived from rat
  • bamboo rat Terms derived from rat
  • bandicoot rat Terms derived from rat
  • barracks rat Terms derived from rat
  • big-headed rice rat Terms derived from rat

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.