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I was raised on the Hudson, in a house that had been the stable of the financier and Civil War general Brayton Ives. In midcentury, we had fire pits in the floor for heating, and rats everywhere, because they nested in the hay insulation.
Mark Helprin

Meaning of "rats" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF RATS

rats  [ræts] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF RATS

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Rats can act as an adjective and an exclamation.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

Exclamation is an expression or voice that reflects an emotion or exaltation.

WHAT DOES RATS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

rats

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 rats in the English dictionary

The definition of rats in the dictionary is an exclamation of rejection or disdain. Other definition of rats is deranged; insane.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH RATS


bats
bæts
CATS
kæts
combats
ˈkɒmbæts
congrats
kənˈɡræts
dingbats
ˈdɪŋˌbæts
ersatz
ˈɛəzæts
flats
flæts
Katz
ˈkæts
lats
læts
mudflats
mʌd flæts
Nats
ˈnæts
SATs
sæts
stats
stæts
Tatt´s
tæts
that´s
ðæts

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE RATS

ratite
ratlike
ratlin
ratline
ratling
RATO
ratoon
ratooner
ratpack
ratproof
rats´ tails
ratsbane
Ratskeller
rattailed
rattan
ratted
ratteen
ratten
rattener
ratter

WORDS THAT END LIKE RATS

Aragats
Cape Flats
Desert Rats
Eastern Ghats
eats
floats
Ghats
Greats
groats
John o´Groats
Keats
Liberal Democrats
long-coats
modern greats
oats
rolled oats
sweats
Western Ghats
wild oats
Yeats

Synonyms and antonyms of rats in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «RATS»

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

Translation of «rats» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF RATS

Find out the translation of rats to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of rats from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «rats» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

ratas
570 millions of speakers

English

rats
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

चूहों
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الفئران
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

крысы
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

ratos
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ইঁদুর
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

rats
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tikus
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Ratten
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ラット
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Tikus
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

chuột
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

எலிகள்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

उंदीर
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

sıçanlar
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ratti
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

szczury
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

щури
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

șobolani
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

αρουραίους
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

rotte
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

råttor
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

rotter
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of rats

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «RATS»

The term «rats» is very widely used and occupies the 13.005 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
94
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «rats» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of rats
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «rats».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «RATS» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «rats» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «rats» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about rats

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «RATS»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word rats.
1
Jamie Bell
I actually don't mind rats at all. I kind of think they're quite cute, but that's just me.
2
Paul Bloom
Natural selection shaped the human brain to be drawn toward aspects of nature that enhance our survival and reproduction, like verdant landscapes and docile creatures. There is no payoff to getting the warm fuzzies in the presence of rats, snakes, mosquitoes, cockroaches, herpes simplex and the rabies virus.
3
Carlos Castaneda
To achieve the mood of a warrior is not a simple matter. It is a revolution. To regard the lion and the water rats and our fellow men as equals is a magnificent act of a warrior's spirit. It takes power to do that.
4
Joe Cowley
Even rats can only be kicked around for so long before they've had enough.
5
Joe Cowley
Showing up to games year after year, no matter what the product on the field gives you back, is a learned behavior - sort of like rats in a maze searching for cheese. The rat learns the maze, learns where the cheese is placed and eventually goes to it without thought, even when the cheese is taken away. The rat doesn't know anything else.
6
Robbie Fowler
It sounds mercenary and it smacks of rats leaving the sinking ship. But get real, when everyone is bailing out, you don't want to be the last man standing.
7
Jean Harris
It would be ugly to watch people poking sticks at a caged rat. It is uglier still to watch rats poking sticks at a caged person.
8
Mark Helprin
I was raised on the Hudson, in a house that had been the stable of the financier and Civil War general Brayton Ives. In midcentury, we had fire pits in the floor for heating, and rats everywhere, because they nested in the hay insulation.
9
Francis Jeffrey
Beware prejudices. They are like rats, and men's minds are like traps; prejudices get in easily, but it is doubtful if they ever get out.
10
Val Kilmer
One out of 100 citizens of the U.S. is going to prison, and it's not that the system is making criminals, it's that it's making criminals better criminals. We're breeding them like rats and it has to change.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «RATS»

Discover the use of rats in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to rats and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Rats
For millions of years man and rats had been natural enemies.
James Herbert, 2011
2
Rats
Without mercy, the rats wreak havoc and devistation upon the once-peaceful neighborhood, entering homes through kitchen sinks and toilets. Now the entire city stands on the brink of total infestation.
Paul Zindel, 2012
3
Fourth Grade Rats
A fast, fun, friendship read from the Newbery-award winning author of Maniac Magee.
Jerry Spinelli, 2012
4
Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City's ...
Funny, wise, sometimes disgusting but always compulsively readable, Rats earns its unlikely place alongside the great classics of nature writing. RATS was named a New York Public Library "Book to Remember" in 2004
Robert Sullivan, 2008
5
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
They are not like other rats.
Robert O'Brien, 2011
6
Rats: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Handling, ...
The many titles in this series show and tell pet owners how to care for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, gerbils, hamsters, and virtually every other animal that is kept as a pet.
Carol Himsel Daly, 2002
7
Rats
Guides the more adventurous pet owner through choosing the right pet, essential equipment, routine care, play, and health and wellbeing of your pet.
June McNicholas, Peter Heathcote, 2010
8
From Rats to Riches
This book takes a no-crap, real-life approach to chasing and achieving dreams. It is the only book of its kind that sheds light on the true road of achieving what seem to be "impossible" goals or ambitions.
Usher Morgan, Baum Jennifer, 2011
9
Rats: A Complete Introduction
Contents: The rat as a companion animal, origin and development, external anatomy and physiology, acquiring a rat, husbandry, handling, nutrition, behavior, reproduction, diseases, sources of additional information.
Daniel R. Schwartz, 1997
10
Desert Rats: British 8th Army in North Africa 1941-43
This book will provide a fascinating insight into these unconventional troops who became the inspiration for today's Special Forces.
T. R. Moreman, 2007

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «RATS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term rats is used in the context of the following news items.
1
A study has found that an ingredient in marijuana helps mend …
The researchers performed standardized fractures on a population of male Sprague-Dawley rats' femurs, then injected the ingredients into the abdomens of the ... «Quartz, Jul 15»
2
Dreaming Rats Plan Their Future While Asleep
New research has now shown that rats not only dream, they also plan their future while doing so. This undated photo shows a rat in a pipe in London. AFP/Getty ... «International Business Times, Jun 15»
3
WATCH: A Rat Crashes a Live Madonna Interview - In Her Home!
... parade going on behind her. Check out the video below. You can catch the rats scurrying around in the top left corner near the 1:20 mark and the 9:55 mark: ... «TV Guide, May 15»
4
Plague blame game: Gerbils replace rats as prime suspects
(CNN) For a long time, rats have taken the heat for the waves of plague that killed millions of people across Europe starting in the 14th century. But now ... «CNN, Feb 15»
5
Plague Pandemic May Have Been Driven by Climate, Not Rats
One of the greatest villains in the history of the plague may have been falsely accused. New evidence shows that the disease did not hide out in rats for centuries ... «Smithsonian, Feb 15»
6
Pigeon pageant for beautiful birds dispels 'rats with wings'
In this Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 photo, former boxing champion Mike Tyson holds a white homing pigeon at the National Pigeon Association's 93rd annual Grand ... «Washington Times, Feb 15»
7
8 Million Rats for 8 Million New Yorkers? Data Suggest a City …
Now there are numbers that suggest the city may not be home to as many rats as New Yorkers might have thought — or liked to boast about to visitors. Jonathan ... «New York Times, Nov 14»
8
New York Is Losing Its Battle Against Rats
The fight to keep the city's burgeoning rat population at bay has been analyzed, and, not surprisingly, it looks like New York is losing. Comptroller Scott Stringer ... «New York Observer, Oct 14»
9
Rats are running amok in the elegant Louvre garden
PARIS — Rats are on the rampage in the elegant garden of the Louvre Museum, so bold they romp on the grass in broad daylight, defying death threats from ... «New York Post, Jul 14»
10
Black Canyon City Man Arrested for Dead Rats
This trailer had a pen inside the front section that contained several dead and dying rats and pens to the rear with an estimated 300 to 500 rats, most of which ... «Prescott eNews, Jul 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Rats [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/rats>. May 2024 ».
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