Library / English Dictionary

RAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: ratted    , ratting   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("rat" is a kind of...):

gnawer; rodent (relatively small placental mammals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rat"):

pocket rat (any of various rodents with cheek pouches)

brown rat; Norway rat; Rattus norvegicus (common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide)

black rat; Rattus rattus; roof rat (common household pest originally from Asia that has spread worldwide)

bandicoot rat; mole rat (burrowing scaly-tailed rat of India and Ceylon)

jerboa rat (large Australian rat with hind legs adapted for leaping)

Oryzomys palustris; rice rat (hardy agile rat of grassy marshes of Mexico and the southeastern United States)

Derivation:

rat (catch rats, especially with dogs)

ratty (dirty and infested with rats)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rat" is a kind of...):

pad (a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort)

Holonyms ("rat" is a part of...):

coif; coiffure; hair style; hairdo; hairstyle (the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair))

Derivation:

rat (give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat)

Sense 3

Meaning:

One who reveals confidential information in return for money

Synonyms:

betrayer; blabber; informer; rat; squealer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("rat" is a kind of...):

informant; source (a person who supplies information)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rat"):

canary; fink; sneak; sneaker; snitch; snitcher; stool pigeon; stoolie; stoolpigeon (someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police)

copper's nark; nark (an informer or spy working for the police)

grass; supergrass (a police informer who implicates many people)

Derivation:

rat (give away information about somebody)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible

Example:

the British call a contemptible person a 'git'

Synonyms:

bum; crumb; dirty dog; git; lowlife; puke; rat; rotter; scum bag; skunk; so-and-so; stinker; stinkpot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("rat" is a kind of...):

disagreeable person; unpleasant person (a person who is not pleasant or agreeable)

Derivation:

rat (desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike

Synonyms:

blackleg; rat; scab; strikebreaker

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("rat" is a kind of...):

worker (a person who works at a specific occupation)

Derivation:

rat (take the place of work of someone on strike)

rat (employ scabs or strike breakers in)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give away information about somebody

Example:

He told on his classmate who had cheated on the exam

Synonyms:

betray; denounce; give away; grass; rat; shit; shop; snitch; stag; tell on

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

inform (impart knowledge of some fact, state of affairs, or event to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rat"):

sell someone out (give information that compromises others)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

ratting (to furnish incriminating evidence to an officer of the law (usually in return for favors))

ratter (a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.)

rat (one who reveals confidential information in return for money)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Catch rats, especially with dogs

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

capture; catch (capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

rat (any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse)

ratter (any of several breeds of terrier developed to catch rats)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

fill out; pad (line or stuff with soft material)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rat (a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Take the place of work of someone on strike

Synonyms:

blackleg; fink; rat; scab

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

do work; work (be employed)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

rat (someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike)

ratter (a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Employ scabs or strike breakers in

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

employ; engage; hire (engage or hire for work)

Domain category:

industry; manufacture (the organized action of making of goods and services for sale)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

rat (someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike)

ratter (a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for one's personal advantage

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "rat" is one way to...):

defect; desert (desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

rat (a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible)

ratter (a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The study looked at pregnant rats of a comparable age.

(Placenta changes could mean male offspring of older mums more likely to develop heart problems in later life, University of Cambridge)

A rat IgG2b monoclonal antibody directed against the cell surface glycoprotein CD52.

(Campath-1G, NCI Thesaurus)

Rat breeds, belonging to the species Rattus norvegicus, that are commonly used as experimental organisms.

(Common Rattus Norvegicus Strains, NCI Thesaurus)

C. kutscheri is commensal in rodent species and is associated with infections from rat bites.

(Corynebacterium kutscheri, NCI Thesaurus)

The rat of the genus and species Sigmodon hispidus.

(Cotton Rat, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

The researchers tested rats for increased sensitivity to non-painful stimulation following a sciatic nerve injury or sham surgery.

(Opioid Pain Relievers May Prolong Pain, NIH)

A rat monoclonal antibody that inhibits Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), targeting tumor cells expressing the wild-type EGFR and EGFRvIII.

(Monoclonal Antibody ICR62, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers have discovered a mechanism in rats that links cigarette smoking and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

(Nicotine addiction linked to diabetes through a DNA-regulating gene in animal models, National Institutes of Health)

"The major finding of this investigation is the discovery of bone-like particles in the peripheral circulation of humans and rats," the team writes in their paper.

(Bone-Like Particles Found Travelling through Human Bloodstream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The rats were multiplying in thousands, and we moved out.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)