pack rat

or packrat

See synonyms for pack rat on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called trade rat, wood rat . a large, bushy-tailed rodent, Neotoma cinerea, of North America, noted for carrying off small articles to store in its nest.

  2. Informal. a person who saves things that are not needed or used but that may have personal or other value.

  1. Informal. an old prospector or guide.

Origin of pack rat

1
First recorded in 1840–50

Other definitions for pack-rat (2 of 2)

pack-rat

or pack·rat

[ pak-rat ]

verb (used with object),pack-rat·ted, pack-rat·ting.Informal.
  1. to save in the manner of a pack rat: I’m looking through the stuff my grandpa pack-ratted away in the attic.

Origin of pack-rat

2
First recorded in 1870–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for pack rat

pack rat

noun
  1. any rat of the genus Neotoma, of W North America, having a long tail that is furry in some species: family Cricetidae: Also called: wood rat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012