Rat

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Rat, n. [AS. ræt; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. råtta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf. Raccoon.].

•  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]
•  A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair.  [1913 Webster]
•  One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union.  [1913 Webster]

  " “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."  Lord Mahon.  [1913 Webster]

Bamboo rat (Zoöl.), any Indian rodent of the genus Rhizomys. -- Beaver rat, Coast rat. (Zoöl.) See under Beaver and Coast. -- Blind rat (Zoöl.), the mole rat. -- Cotton rat (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), the potoroo. -- Norway rat (Zoöl.), the common brown rat. See Rat. -- Pouched rat. (Zoöl.) (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. (Zoöl.) 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 (Zoöl.), a large colubrine snake (Ptyas mucosus) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc. -- Spiny rat (Zoöl.), any South American rodent of the genus Echinomys. -- To smell a rat. See under Smell. -- Wood rat (Zoöl.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially Neotoma Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.

Rat, v. i. 

•  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."  [1913 Webster]
•  To catch or kill rats.  [1913 Webster]
•  To be an informer (against an associate); to inform (on an associate); to squeal; -- used commonly in the phrase to rat on.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Rat, n. & v.
--n.
1 a any of several rodents of the genus Rattus (brown rat). b any similar rodent (muskrat; water-rat).
2 a deserter from a party, cause, difficult situation, etc.; a turncoat (from the superstition that rats desert a sinking ship).
3 colloq. an unpleasant person.
4 a worker who refuses to join a strike, or who blacklegs.
5 (in pl.) sl. an exclamation of contempt, annoyance, etc.
--v.intr. (ratted, ratting)
1 (of a person or dog) hunt or kill rats.
2 colloq. desert a cause, party, etc.
3 (foll. by on) a betray; let down. b inform on.

Idiom

rat-catcher a person who rids buildings of rats etc. rat kangaroo Austral. any of various small ratlike marsupials of the family Potoroidae, having kangaroo-like hind limbs for jumping. rat race a fiercely competitive struggle for position, power, etc. rat's tail a thing shaped like a rat's tail, e.g. a tapering cylindrical file. rat-tail
1 the grenadier fish.
2 a horse with a hairless tail.
3 such a tail. rat-tail (or -tailed) spoon a spoon with a tail-like moulding from the handle to the back of the bowl.

Etymology

OE r{aelig}t & OF rat

THESAURUS

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

ROGET THESAURUS

Rat

Tergiversation

N tergiversation, change of mind, change of intention, change of purpose, afterthought, tergiversation, recantation, palinode, palinody, renunciation, abjuration, abjurement, defection, going over, apostasy, retraction, retractation, withdrawal, disavowal, revocation, revokement, reversal, repentance, redintegratio amoris, coquetry, vacillation, backsliding, volte-face, turn coat, turn tippet, rat, apostate, renegade, convert, pervert, proselyte, deserter, backslider, blackleg, crawfish, scab, mugwump, recidivist, time server, time pleaser, timist, Vicar of Bray, trimmer, ambidexter, weathercock, Janus, changeful, irresolute, ductile, slippery as an eel, trimming, ambidextrous, timeserving, coquetting, revocatory, reactionary, a change came o'er the spirit of my dream.

VB change one's mind, change one's intention, change one's purpose, change one's note, abjure, renounce, withdraw from, waver, vacillate, wheel round, turn round, veer round, turn a pirouette, go over from one side to another, pass from one side to another, change from one side to another, skip from one side to another, go to the rightabout, box the compass, shift one's ground, go upon another tack, apostatize, change sides, go over, rat, recant, retract, revoke, rescind, recall, forswear, unsay, come over, come round to an opinion, crawfish, crawl, draw in one's horns, eat one's words, eat the leek, swallow the leek, swerve, flinch, back out of, retrace one's steps, think better of it, come back return to one's first love, turn over a new leaf, trim, shuffle, play fast and loose, blow hot and cold, coquet, be on the fence, straddle, bold with the hare but run with the hounds, nager entre deux eaux, wait to see how the cat jumps, wait to see how the wind blows.

Disclosure

VB disclose, discover, dismask, draw the veil, draw aside the veil, lift the veil, raise the veil, lift up the veil, remove the veil, tear aside the veil, tear the curtain, unmask, unveil, unfold, uncover, unseal, unkennel, take off the seal, break the seal, lay open, lay bare, expose, open, open up, bare, bring to light, divulge, reveal, break, squeal, tattle, sing, rat, snitch, let into the secret, reveal the secrets of the prison house, tell, breathe, utter, blab, peach, let out, let fall, let drop, let slip, spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, betray, tell tales, come out of school, come out with, give vent, give utterance to, open the lips, blurt out, vent, whisper about, speak out, make public, unriddle, split, acknowledge, allow, concede, grant, admit, own, own up to, confess, avow, throw off all disguise, turn inside out, make a clean breast, show one's hand, show one's cards, unburden one's mind, disburden one's mind, disburden one's conscience, disburden one's heart, open one's mind, lay bare one's mind, tell a piece of one's mind, unbosom oneself, own to the soft impeachment, say the truth, speak the truth, turn King's evidence, Queen's evidence, acknowledge the corn, raise the mask, drop the mask, lift the mask, remove the mask, throw off the mask, expose, lay open, undeceive, unbeguile, disabuse, set right, correct, open the eyes of, d_esillusionner, be disclosed, transpire, come to light, come in sight, become known, escape the lips, come out, ooze out, creep out, leak out, peep out, crop-out, show its face, show its colors, discover itself, break through the clouds, flash on the mind.