rat

CEFRA1

/ɹæt/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small animal with a long tail and pointed face.

  2. 02

    verb

    To betray someone by telling others about their actions.

Examples

  • A cornered rat will bite a cat.

  • He'll be sure to smell a rat if I'm with you.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ɹat/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.

  2. A person who is known for betrayal.

  3. Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.

More examples

In context

  • What a rat, leaving us stranded here!

  • Near-synonyms: rouge, scoundrel, snake; see also Thesaurus:villain

  • Our teenager has become a mall rat.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The exterminator set multiple traps in the basement to catch the blank that was chewing through the wires.

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English raat, rat, ratt, ratte, rotte, from Old English ræt, rætt, from Proto-West Germanic *ratt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (“rat”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to gnaw, scrape, scratch”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern Europe in antiquity, and the Proto-Germanic word may have referred to a different animal; see *rattaz for more. Attestation of this family of words begins in the 12th century. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian root (“rat”), Saterland Frisian Rotte (“rat”), West Frisian rôt (“rat”), Dutch rat, rot (“rat”), German Ratte (“rat”), Luxembourgish Rat (“rat”), Vilamovian rot, rott (“rat”), Yiddish רא...