Meaning of "rat" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD RAT

Old English rætt; related to Old Saxon ratta, Old High German rato.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF RAT

rat  [ræt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF RAT

Rat is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb rat in English.

WHAT DOES RAT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats. Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Generally, when someone discovers a large muroid rodent, its common name includes the term rat, while if it is smaller, the name includes the term mouse. The muroid family is broad and complex, and the common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Scientifically, the terms are not confined to members of the Rattus and Mus genera, for example, the pack rat and cotton mouse.

Definition of rat in the English dictionary

The first definition of rat in the dictionary is a person who deserts his or her friends or associates, esp in time of trouble. Other definition of rat is a worker who works during a strike; blackleg; scab. Rat is also an informer; stool pigeon.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO RAT

PRESENT

Present

I rat

you rat

he/she/it rats

we rat

you rat

they rat

Present continuous

I am ratting

you are ratting

he/she/it is ratting

we are ratting

you are ratting

they are ratting

Present perfect

I have ratted

you have ratted

he/she/it has ratted

we have ratted

you have ratted

they have ratted

Present perfect continuous

I have been ratting

you have been ratting

he/she/it has been ratting

we have been ratting

you have been ratting

they have been ratting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I ratted

you ratted

he/she/it ratted

we ratted

you ratted

they ratted

Past continuous

I was ratting

you were ratting

he/she/it was ratting

we were ratting

you were ratting

they were ratting

Past perfect

I had ratted

you had ratted

he/she/it had ratted

we had ratted

you had ratted

they had ratted

Past perfect continuous

I had been ratting

you had been ratting

he/she/it had been ratting

we had been ratting

you had been ratting

they had been ratting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will rat

you will rat

he/she/it will rat

we will rat

you will rat

they will rat

Future continuous

I will be ratting

you will be ratting

he/she/it will be ratting

we will be ratting

you will be ratting

they will be ratting

Future perfect

I will have ratted

you will have ratted

he/she/it will have ratted

we will have ratted

you will have ratted

they will have ratted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been ratting

you will have been ratting

he/she/it will have been ratting

we will have been ratting

you will have been ratting

they will have been ratting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would rat

you would rat

he/she/it would rat

we would rat

you would rat

they would rat

Conditional continuous

I would be ratting

you would be ratting

he/she/it would be ratting

we would be ratting

you would be ratting

they would be ratting

Conditional perfect

I would have rat

you would have rat

he/she/it would have rat

we would have rat

you would have rat

they would have rat

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been ratting

you would have been ratting

he/she/it would have been ratting

we would have been ratting

you would have been ratting

they would have been ratting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you rat
we let´s rat
you rat

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to rat

Past participle

ratted

Present Participle

ratting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «RAT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «rat» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of rat

bastard · betrayer · bounder · cad · deceiver · defector · deserter · double-crosser · fizgig · grass · heel · informer · nark · quisling · ratfink · rogue · rotter · scoundrel · shit · shyster · snake in the grass · stool pigeon · traitor · two-timer · wrong ´un

TRANSLATION OF RAT

Find out the translation of rat to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of rat from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «rat» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 老鼠
• Translator English - Spanish: rata
• English: rat
• Translator English - Hindi: चूहा
• Translator English - Arabic: جُرَذ
• Translator English - Russian: крыса
• Translator English - Portuguese: rato-preto
• Translator English - Bengali: ইঁদুর
• Translator English - French: rat
• Translator English - Malay: Tikus
• Translator English - German: Ratte
• Translator English - Japanese: ドブネズミ
• Translator English - Korean: 쥐
• Translator English - Javanese: Tikus
• Translator English - Vietnamese: con chuột
• Translator English - Tamil: எலி
• Translator English - Marathi: उंदीर
• Translator English - Turkish: sıçan
• Translator English - Italian: topo
• Translator English - Polish: szczur
• Translator English - Ukrainian: щур
• Translator English - Romanian: șobolan
• Translator English - Greek: αρουραίος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: rat
• Translator English - Swedish: råtta
• Translator English - Norwegian: rotte

10 QUOTES WITH «RAT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word rat.

1

Kevin J. Anderson

I did several interesting jobs, working in restaurants, I worked at a lab rat farm, feeding and watering all these rats. Then I got a full-time job as a technical writer for a large scientific research laboratory.

2

Shari Arison

Our everyday cares, making a living, the crazy rat race of life, often make us forget the value of a good deed. Thus, the goodness that exists within each and every one of us is covered with layer upon layer of indifference and unawareness. In fact, we almost have to be reminded of the fact that goodness is there inside us.

3

Vidya Balan

My idea of an actor is to be different persons with different roles. Every time a script interests me, I look for interesting characters because I intend to completely transport myself into it. This happens only because I am a very greedy actor. I am not part of the rat race because I am living a dream.

4

Bipasha Basu

I actually wanted to be a doctor. But doing all those horrid rat dissections made me faint. I studied science till the 12th standard and later took up commerce. I was planning to do chartered accountancy, but fate had something else in store for me.

5

Samantha Bee

It is so expensive to take care of my hair and keep it looking like I was born with it, when my real hair is the color of rat fur.

6

Daniel Berrigan

The arms race is worse than it ever was, the dumping of creation down a military rat hole is worse than it ever was, the wars across the earth are worse than they ever were.

7

Sonny Bono

We all love the environment, but we have placed creatures above people. A rat is a rat.

8

Elizabeth Bowen

Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat.

9

Kevin Brockmeier

I'm a Sagittarius, born in the year of the rat, all of which is basically meaningless to me.

10

James Cagney

You dirty, double-crossing rat.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «RAT»

Discover the use of rat in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to rat and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

King Rat

His weapons are human courage, unblinking understanding of human weaknesses, and total willingness to exploit every opportunity to enlarge his power and corrupt or destroy anyone who stands in his path. From the Paperback edition.

James Clavell, 2008

Training Your Pet Rat

Pet owners and animal hobbyists are discovering rats as fascinating and intelligent creatures that can be bred selectively and kept as pets. This book advises on virtually all aspects of caging, feeding, rat management, and training.

Gerry Buscis, Barbara Somerville, 2000

Rat

This book traces the history of the human relationship with rats from the first archaeological finds to the genetically engineered rats of the present day, describing its role in the arts and sciences, religion and myth, psychoanalysis and ...

Jonathan Burt, 2006

The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates: Hard Cover Edition

This completely revised edition of The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates, the second most cited book in science, represents a dramatic update from the previous edition.

George Paxinos, Charles Watson, 2007

The Laboratory Rat, Second Edition

This edition features augmented, expanded, and novel information on biology, anesthesia, analgesia, and experimental techniques benefiting personnel working with rats—from the animal care staff to the researcher and everyone in between.

Patrick Sharp, Jason S. Villano, 2012

The Rat and the Tiger

In his friendship with Rat, Tiger takes advantage and plays the bully because of his greater size, but one day Rat stands up for his rights.

Keiko Kasza, 1996

The Behavior of the Laboratory Rat : A Handbook with Tests: ...

This book will serve as an indispensable resource for neuroscientists, psychologists, pharmacologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, zoologists, and their students and trainees.

Ian Q. Whishaw, Bryan Kolb both Professors of Psychology and Neuroscience at Canadian Center for Behavioral Neuroscience University of Lethbridge, 2004

The Laboratory Rat

This reference series will provide all researchers using laboratory animals with comprehensive practical information on the various species.

George J. Krinke, 2000

The Rats

For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies.

James Herbert, 2011

The Laboratory Rat

This second edition features updated information on a variety of topics including: rat genetics and genomics, both spontaneous and induced disease; state-of-the-art technology for housing and husbandry; occupational health, and experimental ...

Mark A. Suckow, Steven H. Weisbroth, Craig L. Franklin, 2005

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «RAT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term rat is used in the context of the following news items.

Margot Robbie Stuns On Elle, Talks About Her 'Suicide Squad' Pet Rat

Oh, and remember that time her "Suicide Squad" co-star Jared Leto sent her a rat (on behalf of The Joker, of course)? Well, turns out, she kept it as a pet, which ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»

DNA test proves that the 'rat' that appeared in a KFC bucket was just …

KFC fans rejoice - it turns out that the deep-fried 'rat' that one American man found in ... from his KFC meal that looks suspiciously like a breaded, deep-fried rat. «The Independent, Jun 15»

KFC customer shares photo to Facebook chicken tender shaped like …

KFC is refuting a customer's claim that he received a fried rat with his order of chicken tenders, calling it a "hoax" and saying the company is "considering all ... «KTRK-TV, Jun 15»

Rat limb grown from cells in the lab, and primate limbs are next

A semi-functional rat forelimb has been grown in the lab -- and primate limbs are next. A team of regenerative medicine scientists and surgeons at ... «Wired.co.uk, Jun 15»

Rat droppings, urine and arsenic found in fake beauty items

Police are warning people about fake beauty products after substances such as rat droppings, human urine and arsenic were found in seized goods. Make-up ... «BBC News, May 15»

90-Year-Old Tortoise Gets Wheels After Losing Legs in Rat Attack

A 90-year-old tortoise named Mrs. T now has a pair of wheels to get around after a rat gnawed off her front legs while she was hibernating in a garden shed ... «TIME, Apr 15»

Man released rat in restaurant to avoid paying for Valentine's Day …

Baker initially claimed the rat had bitten his finger while he ate but backed down after footage of the incident was released during the trial. He pleaded guilty to ... «Fox News, Mar 15»

Bronx man who fed rat poison to his children gets 20 years-to-life in …

A Bronx judge had a message Thursday to a deranged father who fed his kids rat poison: Drop dead. “If only he had ingested that pizza and it had done its job,” ... «New York Daily News, Mar 15»

Rat raised to feed family's snakes fatally bit baby

CARLISLE, Pa. -- A rat being raised to feed a family's pet snakes ended up biting a 6-month-old boy and transmitting diseases that killed him, authorities said ... «CBS News, Mar 15»

'Gerbils replace rats' as main cause of Black Death

Black rats may not have been to blame for numerous outbreaks of the bubonic plague across Europe, a study suggests. Scientists believe repeat epidemics of ... «BBC News, Feb 15»