rat
286
7.3
- noun
- /ræt/
- Offensive
- I am not a rat!
- smell a rat
Examples
-
And then people were like, of course, Max Bell, that rat, selling stories to the press.
-
Some rat calling himself Harry Kellerman is calling up every chick I see and telling lies about me, giving me the bad-mouth all over town.
-
But even if I could figure it out, do you think that rat of a teacher will give me a break?
-
How does it feel to be a rat?
-
In this time of trouble, was I a rat leaving a sinking ship?
Academic text (1997) -
Sources say the ex president is worried he may have a rat or multiple rats in his midst.
-
Well, you obviously smelled a rat or you wouldn't be asking, right?
-
It didn't add up and I smelled a rat, a big rat.
-
Freshmen were labeled rats to reflect the attitude of upperclassmen that they were the lowly ones on campus.
Academic text (2013) -
Max Bell is known as a rat because he betrayed his friends by selling their secrets to the press.
Synonyms
320
3.9
A person who breaks the trust of their country, group, or friend to help an enemy
92
8.2
A person who secretly works inside an organization to pass information to an enemy
26
6.3
A person who breaks someone's trust by revealing secrets
25
6.0
A person who secretly tells police about someone else's crimes to get money or protection
13
8.4
A person who works during a strike to replace those striking
12
8.2
A person who leaves their group to join the opposite side
7
8.1
A person who tells the police about other people's crimes
2
7.7
A person who works while other workers refuse to work to protest
2
9.9
A person who betrays their friends or group
1
9.9
A person who secretly helps an enemy inside their country
1
9.9
A person who betrays others and cannot be trusted
1
8.7
A person who secretly tells the police about other people's crimes
1
7.9
A person who tells secrets to the police or other people in power
A person who keeps working when other workers are on strike
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Offensive
8
9.9
An insulting word for a person from a poor neighborhood who behaves in a rough or criminal way
- Offensive
4
9.0
An insulting name for a person thought to be very bad and not to be trusted
- US
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 almost hairless African animal that lives underground in large groups like ants
- Australian
1
8.1
A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rat but is related to kangaroos
1
2.3
A small dark animal like a large mouse that lives near people and often carries disease
- US
1
6.3
A small desert animal like a mouse that hops on long hind legs and has a long tail
- US
1
6.7
A small wild animal like a rat that lives in forests, builds nests, and often collects things
- South African
1
9.9
A small burrowing mammal from western Africa that lives in underground colonies
1
5.3
A large shiny black snake from North America that is not venomous and eats rats and mice
- US
1
9.0
A small wild animal like a mouse that lives in marsh grass and eats plants and insects
- Specialized
1
9.5
A thin metal tool with a round taper used to smooth small round holes and curves
- Australian
1
8.2
A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rabbit-sized rat
- Australian
1
9.9
A small animal from Australia and New Guinea that lives in water and looks like a beaver
- US
1
9.9
A small mammal from southern South America that looks like a shrew and carries its young in a pouch
- Specialized
1
7.6
A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest
- Specialized
1
8.3
A serious disease that causes fever and a rash when fleas spread bacteria to people
- Baby Talk
1
8.0
A circle game where players join hands and raise them to let a child pass while another catches them
- Australian
1
9.9
A small animal like a mouse that eats insects and carries its young in a pouch
- Specialized
1
9.9
A small mouse-like animal with large back legs that hops and lives in burrows in the western United States
A small animal like a rat with soft thick fur and big ears that lives in the Andes
- Specialized
A small animal like a mouse with soft fur and pouches in its cheeks
- Specialized
A small animal like a mouse that lives in Florida marshes and swims
- Indian
A large snake from South and Southeast Asia that is not poisonous and often enters buildings to catch mice
- Specialized
A larger female in a colony of naked mole rats who is the only one to have babies
A large harmless reddish snake from the southern United States that lives on farms and in woods
- Offensive
A harmful false idea that people who get government help are lazy or dishonest
- Offensive
An insulting name for a flying animal like a pigeon that people see as dirty or annoying
How Disloyal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Rat as an insult comes from the animal's bad image, because rats were seen as sneaky and dirty, so calling someone a 'rat' meant they betrayed or harmed others. That's why rat now also means a person who betrays or informs on a group.