packrat
- noun
- /ˈpækˌræt/
- US
:
rata de madera
- When we explored the old shed, we found it full of items that a packrat had hoarded over the years.
Examples
-
The mattress was one giant packrat's nest, the music stand for her oboe broken and rusted, the floorboards sprung.
Fiction book (2000) -
The packrat stole from the bear, the chipmunk stole from the ground squirrel, and the coyote stole from everyone.
Fiction book (1993) -
The traditional vehicles of the magpie and the packrat recur everywhere throughout articles and novels about the Collyers.
Academic text (2016) -
Hoarders still find themselves in zoomorphic and often Kafkaesque metaphors with packrats, squirrels, goats, magpies, and insects.
Academic text (2016) -
The packrat collected shiny objects from around the campsite and brought them back to its nest.
-
In the desert, the packrat can often be seen gathering twigs and leaves to store for later.
Synonyms
1
7.3
A small North American animal like a rat with a bushy tail that collects objects
A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest
A small animal like a mouse with a thick bushy tail that lives in western North America and stores food
A small animal with a bushy tail that collects and hides small things
A small mouse-like animal with a thick bushy tail that lives in western North America and collects food and objects
A small North American animal like a rat that collects things to build nests
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Packrat comes from the two simple parts pack ('to carry or store') and rat ('a small animal'). The real packrat is a North American rodent that gathers sticks, shiny bits, and other objects for its nest, so it is literally a 'rat that packs things'.