rathole
8.7
A small hole in a wall or floor made by rats
- noun
- /ˈræθhoʊl/
:
agujero de rata
- How can he send a child down into the narrow, twisting ratholes that go deep into the earth where the air is too dusty to breathe?
Examples
-
The cat found a rathole in the corner of the old barn.
-
"I cannot go down into that dark rathole again.
Fiction book (1995) -
After inspecting the rathole, we realized it led to a burrow where the mice lived.
-
The children discovered a rathole near the garden that was full of dirt.
Synonyms
mousehole
vsrathole
1
3.7
A small hole in a wall where a mouse enters or leaves
refers to similar holes but made by larger rodents instead
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Rathole is simply rat + hole, so it originally meant a small hole made by a rat. That's why it still names an actual hole in a wall or floor where rats live.