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rat

rat

739 1.0
A small animal like a large mouse with a long tail that lives near people
  • noun
  • /ræt/
: rata
  • Young soldiers and scientists studied like suffering lab rats.
  • pet rat
  • rats and mice
  • male rat

So not ideal, maybe because the rats had been measured at birth.

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Examples

  • Allowing for attrition, eight rats were used in each group, yielding a total of 16 animals.

    Academic text (2015)
  • To address these questions, we used the rat cremaster muscle flap.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Comes down to this one rat who has to eat the bait.

  • 25% of the human genome is shared with rats.

  • It looks much more like a small rat, complete with a tail.

  • But he saw the size of the rats and he was disgusted.

  • Look at all these rats just infiltrating the bottom.

  • Locomotor disorders developed in one rat, and it died four days after the purchase.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Sean, this rat's reached the end of the maze.

  • The rat scurried across the alley looking for food among the trash.

Synonyms

sewer rat
vsrat
4 4.1

A brown rat that lives in sewers and other dirty city places

covers the same animal but not specifically those filthy habitats
desert rat
vsrat
  • US
3 8.0

A small hopping animal that lives in deserts, often in North America and Mexico, and eats seeds

is the common urban-associated rodent sense, not the desert leaper types
pack rat
vsrat
  • US
2 7.3

A small North American animal like a rat with a bushy tail that collects objects

is the wider term for similar rodents without implying collecting behavior
Norway rat
vsrat
1 4.2

A large brown rat that lives near people and often causes trouble

is a broader label for similar long-tailed rodents worldwide
roof rat
vsrat
1 7.4

A small rat that lives in roofs or attics

refers to similar rodents regardless of where in buildings they live
water rat
vsrat
1 3.9

A small animal like a rat that lives in or near water

is the broader human-associated rodent group not limited to water habitats
black rat
vsrat
1 2.3

A small dark animal like a large mouse that lives near people and often carries disease

is the larger umbrella term for various long-tailed rodents
wood rat
vsrat
  • US
1 6.7

A small wild animal like a rat that lives in forests, builds nests, and often collects things

is the common term for long-tailed rodents that live near people
Rattus norvegicus
vsrat
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A common brown rat that lives near people, often found in cities and sometimes kept as a pet

is the general everyday term rather than the technical species name
brown rat
vsrat
1 2.1

A common rat that lives near people and damages food and buildings

refers more generally to similar rodents, not one specific species
cotton rat
vsrat
  • US
1 8.1

A wild rat that lives underground and damages crops

is the general human-near rodent category not focused on farming damage
wood-rat
vsrat
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest

is the general human-associated rodent type, not the hoarding specialist
Rattus rattus
vsrat
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A small black rat with a long tail that lives near houses and is often a pest

is the general category that includes both small and large species
bandicoot rat
vsrat
  • Indian
1 9.9

A large burrowing rat with a scaly tail found in India and Sri Lanka

is the wider label for similar long-tailed rodents regardless of region
ratton
vsrat
  • Archaic
9.9

A small animal with a long tail that lives near houses and eats food

is the everyday modern name rather than the older regional form
pine rat
vsrat
9.4

A large rat that lives in pine forests and sometimes damages crops

is the general term for rodents commonly living close to people

Idioms

43 9.9

To care at all about something

Very quickly, especially when leaving or running away

9.9

Very quick and lively in a slightly surprising, playful way

poor as a rat
  • Informal
8.3

Having almost no money or things

Compounds

lab rat
  • Offensive
34 6.1

A person used by others for tests who often feels watched or controlled

rat bastard
  • Offensive
16 9.9

A rude word for a person who is cruel or dishonest

rat race
  • Informal
15 4.0

A busy, competitive working life that leaves little time to relax

hood rat
  • Offensive
8 9.9

An insulting word for a person from a poor neighborhood who behaves in a rough or criminal way

pack rat
  • Informal
6 7.4

A person who keeps many things and does not throw them away

5 7.7

A series of quick, sharp knocks often on a door or drum

sewer rat
  • Offensive
4 9.0

An insulting name for a person thought to be very bad and not to be trusted

gym rat
  • Slang
4 7.7

A person who spends a lot of time exercising in a gym

4 4.1

A brown rat that lives in sewers and other dirty city places

4 4.7

A small animal that digs tunnels and lives mostly underground like a mole

3 8.0

A small hopping animal that lives in deserts, often in North America and Mexico, and eats seeds

2 7.3

A small North American animal like a rat with a bushy tail that collects objects

A series of short, sharp tapping sounds like knocking on a door

river rat
  • Informal
2 8.3

A person who spends a lot of time near rivers and likes boating or fishing

A small almost hairless African animal that lives underground in large groups like ants

1 5.1

A small energetic dog bred to hunt rats

1 7.4

A person who catches and kills rats to keep places clean

kangaroo rat
  • Australian
1 8.1

A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rat but is related to kangaroos

1 4.2

A large brown rat that lives near people and often causes trouble

1 5.3

A snake that is not poisonous and eats rats and mice

1 7.4

A small rat that lives in roofs or attics

1 3.9

A small animal like a rat that lives in or near water

frat rat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A college student who spends too much time at fraternity parties

1 2.3

A small dark animal like a large mouse that lives near people and often carries disease

1 6.3

A small desert animal like a mouse that hops on long hind legs and has a long tail

1 8.0

A brown animal like a mouse that lives on docks and eats bait

1 6.7

A small wild animal like a rat that lives in forests, builds nests, and often collects things

water rat
  • Informal
1 7.9

A person who likes being in water or on a boat

wharf rat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who lives near docks and steals from ships or warehouses

plague rat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An insulting word for a person people think is dishonest or harmful

Damaraland mole rat
  • South African
1 9.9

A small burrowing mammal from western Africa that lives in underground colonies

rat racer
  • Offensive
1 8.6

A person who tries to get ahead at work by using unfair or dishonest ways

1 2.1

A common rat that lives near people and damages food and buildings

1 8.6

A small animal like a mouse that lives in holes in the desert

1 5.3

A large shiny black snake from North America that is not venomous and eats rats and mice

tree rat
  • Slang
1 8.9

A squirrel that people see as a pest

1 9.0

A small wild animal like a mouse that lives in marsh grass and eats plants and insects

welfare rat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An insulting name for a person who cheats to get government help

rat-tail file
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A thin metal tool with a round taper used to smooth small round holes and curves

rat cheese
  • Slang
1 8.9

A strong yellow cheese like American cheddar

1 8.1

A wild rat that lives underground and damages crops

sky rat
  • Slang
1 9.9

A city bird like a pigeon that people see as a pest

rat kangaroo
  • Australian
1 8.2

A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rabbit-sized rat

beaver rat
  • Australian
1 9.9

A small animal from Australia and New Guinea that lives in water and looks like a beaver

rat cheese
  • Slang
1 9.9

A joke name for old food that smells bad

1 9.9

A small mammal from southern South America that looks like a shrew and carries its young in a pouch

1 9.1

A small animal with a bushy tail that collects and hides small things

wood-rat
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest

rat typhus
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A serious disease that causes fever and a rash when fleas spread bacteria to people

cat and rat
  • Baby Talk
1 8.0

A circle game where players join hands and raise them to let a child pass while another catches them

marsupial rat
  • Australian
1 9.9

A small animal like a mouse that eats insects and carries its young in a pouch

bandicoot rat
  • Indian
1 9.9

A large burrowing rat with a scaly tail found in India and Sri Lanka

jerboa rat
  • Australian
1 9.9

A large Australian mouse-like animal with long back legs that jumps far

Ord kangaroo rat
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small mouse-like animal with large back legs that hops and lives in burrows in the western United States

bottle rat
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who drinks too much at parties and seeks free drinks

A small animal like a rat with soft thick fur and big ears that lives in the Andes

dwarf pocket rat
  • Specialized
9.9

A small animal like a mouse with soft fur and pouches in its cheeks

A North American wood rat with dark feet that builds large stick nests

Florida water rat
  • Specialized
9.9

A small animal like a mouse that lives in Florida marshes and swims

8.0

A large snake from South and Southeast Asia that is not poisonous and often enters buildings to catch mice

queen mole rat
  • Specialized
9.2

A larger female in a colony of naked mole rats who is the only one to have babies

rat with wings
  • Offensive
9.8

An annoying person or thing that keeps coming back

rat run
  • UK
8.1

A narrow hidden path people use to go somewhere faster

rat-licker
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who praises someone in power to get advantages

5.5

A large harmless reddish snake from the southern United States that lives on farms and in woods

9.4

A large rat that lives in pine forests and sometimes damages crops

9.9

A small animal like a mouse that uses fur-lined cheek pouches to carry food

9.9

A harmful false idea that people who get government help are lazy or dishonest

winter rat
  • Informal
9.9

A person who stays mostly indoors during winter to avoid the cold

winged rat
  • Offensive
9.2

An insulting name for a flying animal like a pigeon that people see as dirty or annoying

How Big

badger
35 1.4
rat
739 1.0
mole rat
4 4.7
mole
37 1.0
vole
9 6.3
shrew
6 5.1

Surface Forms

rat singular
rats plural

Etymology

Rat comes from old Germanic words for the animal and you can still see the same name in modern German Ratte and Dutch 'rat'. So the word rat today simply names the large mouse-like rodent often found near houses and shops.