rat
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Any of different long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ratIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹæt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
informal
Any of the numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) that resemble true rats in appearance, usually having short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
Any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
zoology
A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.
informal
A person who is known for betrayal.
A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.
A roll of material used to puff out the hair, which is turned over it.
verb
intransitive
To betray a political party, cause or principle; to betray someone, to desert a person or thing.
chiefly us
To backcomb (hair).
Take the place of work of someone on strike
intransitivewith on or out
To inform on someone; to betray someone to the police or authorities.
informalintransitive
To work as a scab, going against trade union policies.
Damn, drat, blast; used in oaths.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any of the numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) that resemble true rats in appearance, usually having short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
Used this way, rat is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rat
- “What a rat, leaving us stranded here!”noun
- “He loved hockey and was a devoted rink rat.”noun
- “He is going to rat us out!”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: any of the numerous members of several rodent families (e.g. voles and mice) that resemble true rats in appearance
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “rat” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary from meanings, examples and other prompts.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.