BROWN RAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does brown rat mean? 

• BROWN RAT (noun)
  The noun BROWN RAT has 1 sense:

1. common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide

  Familiarity information: BROWN RAT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BROWN RAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

brown rat; Norway rat; Rattus norvegicus

Hypernyms ("brown rat" is a kind of...):

rat (any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "brown rat"):

wharf rat (brown rat that infests wharves)

sewer rat (brown rat commonly found in sewers)

Holonyms ("brown rat" is a member of...):

genus Rattus; Rattus (common house rats; upper incisors have a beveled edge)

 Context examples 

The brown rat has a coarse brown or black coat with a pale underside, and a long nearly hairless tail.

(BN, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)