Rat \Rat\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ratted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ratting.]
1. In English politics, to desert one's party from interested
motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own
advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on
other conditions, than those established by a trades
union.
[1913 Webster]
Coleridge . . . incurred the reproach of having
ratted, solely by his inability to follow the
friends of his early days. --De Quincey.
[1913 Webster]
2. To catch or kill rats.
[1913 Webster]
2. To be an informer (against an associate); to inform (on an
associate); to squeal; -- used commonly in the phrase to
rat on.
[PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Rat \Rat\ (r[a^]t), n. [AS. r[ae]t; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato,
ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw.
r[*a]tta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown
origin. Cf. Raccoon.]
1. (Zool.) One of several species of small rodents of the
genus Rattus (formerly included in Mus) and allied
genera, of the family Muridae, distinguished from mice
primarily by being larger. They infest houses, stores, and
ships, especially the Norway rat, also called brown rat,
({Rattus norvegicus formerly Mus decumanus), the black
rat ({Rattus rattus formerly Mus rattus), and the roof
rat (formerly Mus Alexandrinus, now included in Rattus
rattus). These were introduced into America from the Old
World. The white rat used most commonly in laboratories is
primarily a strain derived from Rattus rattus.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material,
used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their
natural hair. [Local, U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the
trades, one who works for lower wages than those
prescribed by a trades union. [Cant]
[1913 Webster]
Note: "It so chanced that, not long after the accession of
the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is the
German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this
country (in some timber as is said); and being much
stronger than the black, or, till then, the common,
rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter.
The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first,
as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the
government of George the First, but has by degrees
obtained a wider meaning, and come to be applied to any
sudden and mercenary change in politics." --Lord Mahon.
[1913 Webster]
Bamboo rat (Zool.), any Indian rodent of the genus
Rhizomys.
Beaver rat, Coast rat. (Zool.) See under Beaver and
Coast.
Blind rat (Zool.), the mole rat.
Cotton rat (Zool.), a long-haired rat ({Sigmodon
hispidus), native of the Southern United States and
Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious
to the crop.
Ground rat. See Ground Pig, under Ground.
Hedgehog rat. See under Hedgehog.
Kangaroo rat (Zool.), the potoroo.
Norway rat (Zool.), the common brown rat. See Rat.
Pouched rat. (Zool.)
(a) See Pocket Gopher, under Pocket.
(b) Any African rodent of the genus Cricetomys.
Rat Indians (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near
Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to the Athabascan stock.
Rat mole. (Zool.) See Mole rat, under Mole.
Rat pit, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be
killed by a dog for sport.
Rat snake (Zool.), a large colubrine snake ({Ptyas
mucosus) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters
dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc.
Spiny rat (Zool.), any South American rodent of the genus
Echinomys.
To smell a rat. See under Smell.
Wood rat (Zool.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma,
especially Neotoma Floridana, common in the Southern
United States. Its feet and belly are white.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
rat
n 1: any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger
than a mouse
2: someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike
[syn: scab, strikebreaker, blackleg]
3: a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible;
"only a rotter would do that"; "kill the rat"; "throw the
bum out"; "you cowardly little pukes!"; "the British call
a contemptible person a `git'" [syn: rotter, dirty dog,
skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife,
scum bag, so-and-so, git]
4: one who reveals confidential information in return for money
[syn: informer, betrayer, squealer, blabber]
5: a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's
coiffure
v 1: desert one's party or group of friends, for example, for
one's personal advantage
2: employ scabs or strike breakers in
3: take the place of work of someone on strike [syn: scab, blackleg]
4: give (hair) the appearance of being fuller by using a rat
5: catch rats, especially with dogs
6: give away information about somebody; "He told on his
classmate who had cheated on the exam" [syn: denounce, tell
on, betray, give away, grass, shit, shop, snitch,
stag]
[also: ratting, ratted]
WordNet (r) 2.0
376 Moby Thesaurus words for "rat":
Angora goat, Arctic fox, Belgian hare, Benedict Arnold, Brutus,
Caffre cat, Indian buffalo, Judas, Judas Iscariot, Kodiak bear,
Quisling, SOB, Virginia deer, aardvark, aardwolf, alpaca, anteater,
antelope, antelope chipmunk, aoudad, apar, apostate, apostatize,
archtraitor, armadillo, ass, aurochs, babble, badger, bandicoot,
bassarisk, bastard, bat, be indiscreet, be unguarded, bear,
bear witness against, beaver, betray, betray a confidence,
betrayer, bettong, binturong, bison, blab, blabber, black bear,
black buck, black cat, black fox, black sheep, blackleg,
blow the whistle, blue fox, blurt, blurt out, bobcat, bolt,
break away, brown bear, brush deer, brush wolf, buffalo,
buffalo wolf, bugger, burro, burro deer, cachalot, camel,
camelopard, capybara, carabao, caribou, carpincho, cat,
cat-a-mountain, catamount, cattalo, cavy, chamois, cheetah,
chevrotain, chignon, chinchilla, chipmunk, cinnamon bear,
cockatrice, conniver, conspirator, conspirer, coon, coon cat,
cotton mouse, cotton rat, cougar, cow, coyote, coypu, creep, cur,
deer, deer tiger, defect, defector, desert, dingo, dog, donkey,
dormouse, double agent, double-crosser, double-dealer, dromedary,
echidna, eland, elephant, elk, ermine, eyra, fall, fallow deer,
false hair, fart, ferret, field mouse, fink, fisher, fitch,
flying phalanger, foumart, fox, fox squirrel, gazelle, gemsbok,
genet, giraffe, give away, glutton, gnu, gnu goat, goat,
goat antelope, gopher, grizzly bear, ground squirrel, groundhog,
guanaco, guinea pig, hamster, hare, harnessed antelope, hartebeest,
hedgehog, heel, hippopotamus, hog, hood, hooligan, horse, hyena,
hyrax, ibex, inform, inform against, inform on, informer,
intrigant, intriguer, jackal, jackass, jackrabbit, jaguar,
jaguarundi, jerboa, jerboa kangaroo, jerk, kaama, kangaroo,
kangaroo mouse, kangaroo rat, karakul, kinkajou, kit fox, koala,
lapin, leak, lemming, leopard, leopard cat, let down, let drop,
let fall, let slip, lion, llama, louse, lynx, machinator, mammoth,
mara, marmot, marten, mastodon, meanie, meerkat, mink, mole,
mongoose, moose, mother, mouflon, mountain goat, mountain lion,
mountain sheep, mouse, mule, mule deer, muntjac, musk deer,
musk hog, musk-ox, muskrat, musquash, narc, nark, nilgai, nutria,
ocelot, okapi, onager, oont, opossum, otter, ounce, ox, pack rat,
painter, panda, pangolin, panther, peach, peccary, peludo,
phalanger, pig, pill, pine mouse, platypus, plotter, pocket gopher,
pocket mouse, pocket rat, polar bear, polar fox, polecat,
porcupine, possum, pouched rat, poyou, prairie dog, prairie wolf,
prick, pronghorn, pull out, puma, quisling, rabbit, raccoon,
recreant, red deer, red squirrel, reindeer, renounce, repudiate,
reveal a secret, rhinoceros, roe, roe deer, roebuck, run out on,
runagate, sable, scab, schemer, scum, secede, sell out, serpent,
serval, sheep, shit, shithead, shitheel, shrew, shrew mole, sika,
silver fox, sing, skunk, sloth, snake, snitch, snitch on,
snowshoe rabbit, spill, spill the beans, springbok, squeak, squeal,
squirrel, stinkard, stinker, stoat, stool, strikebreaker, suslik,
swamp rabbit, swine, switch, takin, talk, tamandua, tamarin, tapir,
tarpan, tatou, tatou peba, tatouay, tattle, tattle on, tell on,
tell secrets, tell tales, tergiversate, tergiversator,
testify against, tiger, tiger cat, timber wolf, timeserver, toad,
traitor, treasonist, tree shrew, trimmer, turd, turn,
turn informer, turnabout, turncoat, urus, vole, wallaby, warthog,
water buffalo, waterbuck, weasel, wharf rat, whistler, white fox,
wild ass, wild boar, wild goat, wild ox, wildcat, wildebeest, wolf,
wolverine, wombat, wood rat, woodchuck, woolly mammoth, yak, zebra,
zebu, zoril
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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