to rat
- verb
- /ræt/
- Informal
- Are you gonna have to rat me out now, George?
Loading YouTube…
Watch on YouTubeYou don't rat on your mates and they don't do it to you.
- You don't rat on your mates and they don't do it to you.
- Like if you if you who like, you know, if you rat on all of us, you're going to get choked out in the hallway.
- Well, I'm just, I'm curious, but they they've, they've tell the the migrants, if you rat me out, if you squeal, they're not going to get paid.
- And as they chose you out how crazy it was, I only got respect then I didn't rat them out and I could held my own.
- And so, so none of them ratted out, but the two team leaders fessed up.
- And if you tell me I love you, I have to rat you out.
Examples
-
Do you always rat out your friends that quickly?
-
Few people like to "rat" on their friends.
Academic text (2004) -
Did you rat me out?
-
Are you gonna rat me out?
Fiction book (2002) -
I'll never rat on you.
-
One reason may be that students do not wish to "rat" on other students and, therefore, let the cheating pass.
Academic text (1996) -
I didn't rat you out.
-
If you want someone to rat out a criminal, offering them $10,000 might just do it.
Blog text (13) -
"Don't worry, Hugo, I'd never rat you out," nodded Rick.
Fiction book (1995) -
I can't believe you would rat on your friends for such a small thing.
Synonyms
Tell a secret on purpose or by accident
To tell the police or another authority about someone's bad action, betraying their trust
To secretly tell the police or a person in charge about someone's bad actions
To report to a person in charge that someone did something wrong so they get in trouble
Tell someone's secret to other people
To tell the police about someone's crimes or secrets
To work during a strike to replace striking workers
Tell authorities about someone, often exposing them to punishment
To tell the police or a manager that someone did something wrong
To tell the police that someone has done something wrong
To work while other workers are on strike, often seen as a betrayal
To tell the police about someone so they get in trouble
To work in place of workers who are on strike
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
To tell the police or another authority about someone's bad action, betraying their trust
Compounds
- Offensive
An insulting word for a person from a poor neighborhood who behaves in a rough or criminal way
- Offensive
An insulting name for a person thought to be very bad and not to be trusted
- US
A small hopping animal that lives in deserts, often in North America and Mexico, and eats seeds
A small almost hairless African animal that lives underground in large groups like ants
- Australian
A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rat but is related to kangaroos
A small dark animal like a large mouse that lives near people and often carries disease
- US
A small desert animal like a mouse that hops on long hind legs and has a long tail
- US
A small wild animal like a rat that lives in forests, builds nests, and often collects things
- South African
A small burrowing mammal from western Africa that lives in underground colonies
A large shiny black snake from North America that is not venomous and eats rats and mice
- US
A small wild animal like a mouse that lives in marsh grass and eats plants and insects
- Specialized
A thin metal tool with a round taper used to smooth small round holes and curves
- Australian
A small Australian animal with a pouch that looks like a rabbit-sized rat
- Australian
A small animal from Australia and New Guinea that lives in water and looks like a beaver
- US
A small mammal from southern South America that looks like a shrew and carries its young in a pouch
- Specialized
A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest
- Specialized
A serious disease that causes fever and a rash when fleas spread bacteria to people
- Baby Talk
A circle game where players join hands and raise them to let a child pass while another catches them
- Australian
A small animal like a mouse that eats insects and carries its young in a pouch
- Specialized
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
- Informal
- Informal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Rat as a verb meaning to betray comes from the insult word for the animal, because calling someone a 'rat' led to the action word for informing or betraying others. So to rat on someone is to tell on them or act as a betrayer.