rat
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology
From Old English ræt from Proto-Germanic *ratta- (“‘rat’”) from Proto-Indo-European *rēd- (“‘to scrape, gnaw, scratch’”). Akin to Old Saxon ratta (Dutch rat "rat"), Old High German rato (German Ratte, Ratz "rat"), Old Norse rotta (Icelandic rotta "rat"), Middle Low German rotta "rat", Latin rodere "to gnaw". More at rodent
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
rat (plural rats)
- (zoology) Any of about 56 different species of small, omnivorous rodents belonging to the genus Rattus.
- (informal) A term indiscriminately applied to numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) having bodies longer than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
- (informal) A person who is known for betrayal; a scoundrel.
- What a rat, leaving us stranded here!
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house.
- (informal) An informant or snitch
- (slang) A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.
- Our teenager has become a mall rat.
- He loved hockey and was a devoted rink rat.
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) A promiscuous person - often a young female - who attends sporting and other entertainment events, primarily to seek sexual liaisons with athletes, entertainers and/or others traveling with them; a groupie.
- Informer.
- Scab
- North West London slang term for Vagina, as in get your rat out.
- A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.
[edit] Synonyms
- (person known for betrayal): traitor (see for more synonyms)
- (informer): stool pigeon
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] See also
[edit] Translations
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to rat (third-person singular simple present rats, present participle ratting, simple past and past participle ratted)
- (usually with “on” or “out”) to betray someone and tell their secret to an authority or an enemy; to turn someone in.
- He ratted on his coworker.
- He is going to rat us out!
- (of a dog, etc.) To kill rats.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
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[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Catalan
[edit] Noun
rat m. (plural rats)
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Danish
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /rat/, [ʁɑd̥]
[edit] Noun
rat n. (singular definite rattet, plural indefinite rat)
[edit] Inflection
| neuter gender | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative, dative and accusative | rat | rattet | rat | rattene |
| genitive | rats | rattets | rats | rattenes |
[edit] Dutch
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Homophones
[edit] Noun
rat f.
- rat
[edit] French
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
rat m. (plural rats)
- rat
- (informal) sweetheart
- scrooch
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Occitan
[edit] Noun
rat m. (plural rats)
[edit] Romani
[edit] Noun
rat m. (plural rat)
[edit] Serbo-Croatian
[edit] Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *ortь.
[edit] Noun
rȁt f. (Cyrillic spelling ра̏т)
[edit] Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | rat | ratovi |
| genitive | rata | ratova |
| dative | ratu | ratovima |
| accusative | rat | ratove |
| vocative | rate | ratovi |
| locative | ratu | ratovima |
| instrumental | ratom | ratovima |
[edit] Torres Strait Creole
[edit] Etymology
From English rat.
[edit] Noun
rat
[edit] Synonyms
- mukeis (eastern dialect)