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# rat

«rat» in Mova's school dictionary: **A rodent like a large mouse, with a long thin tail, sharp…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a rat, rats); verb (rat on — informal, rats, ratted, ratting); interjection (Rats! — informal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A rodent like a large mouse, with a long thin tail, sharp teeth and grey or brown fur. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#m1)

2) (informal) A nasty, mean or disloyal person. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#m2)

3) Rat on someone (informal): tell on someone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#m3)

4) Rats!: a mild word said when something goes wrong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, rats are mammals and rodents; they are clever and can learn mazes, and some are pets (fancy rats). In health and safety lessons: wild rats can carry germs and diseases, so don't touch them, keep food covered and bins closed; wash hands after handling pets. In history, fleas on rats spread the plague. In stories rats can be villains (the Pied Piper) or clever friends. Phrases: smell a rat (suspect a trick), like a drowned rat (soaking wet), rat race, pet rat.

### examples

- A rat ran across the alley. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x1)
- My friend has two pet rats called Salt and Pepper. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x2)
- Keep the bin lid closed so rats can't get in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x3)
- Don't touch wild rats — they can carry disease. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x4)
- Rats can learn their way through a maze. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x5)
- I came home from the rain looking like a drowned rat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x6)
- «Rats! I forgot my homework.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x7)
- The story's detective smelled a rat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/#x8)

### note

Countable: a rat, rats. Rats are bigger than mice and have thicker tails. Don't confuse with «rate». «Smell a rat» means to think something is a trick.

### In the corpora

- [Stories grow as they travel: one mouse in the kitchen becomes "the school's closing because of rats".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/50-rumours-about-classmates-and-secrets/16/)
- [Meerkats are a kind of mongoose, not a kind of rat or squirrel.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/125-timon-and-pumbaa-real-meerkats-and-warthogs/7/)
- [Real farm cats are useful mousers that keep mice and rats away from barns full of grain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/144-babe-real-pigs-sheep-and-sheepdogs/13/)
- [The moonrat smells strongly of garlic or onion, and despite its name it is not a rat but a cousin of the hedgehog.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/161-borneo-orangutans-proboscis-monkeys-and-the-biggest-flower/11/)
- [Real cats do hunt mice, but many well-fed house cats are lazy hunters, and some are even scared of rats.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/191-myths-and-cartoons-put-right/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «rat» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rat/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.