rat
Forms
- Plural
- rats
- present (v1)
- rat
- past (v2)
- ratted
- past participle (v3)
- ratted
- present participle
- ratting
- 3rd person singular
- rats
Definitions
1.Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
2.A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.
- 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.
3.A person who is known for betrayal.(informal)
- What a rat, leaving us stranded here!
- "Ah, so you damn rat, this is a put-up job eh?"
- He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house.
4.An informant or snitch.(informal)
1.To betray a political party, cause or principle; to betray someone, to desert a person or thing.
2.To work as a scab, going against trade union policies.(informal)
3.To backcomb (hair).
- In 1962, the higher a girl's hair was ratted the more available she was, it was simply understood.
4.To hunt or kill rats.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3224
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
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.