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black rat

noun
  1. an Old World rat, Rattus rattus, now common in the southern U.S., having a black or brown body with grayish or white underparts.
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Origin of black rat

First recorded in 1765–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for black rat

Historical Examples

  • Not so, however, with the black-rat blister-beetle, which is on hand ready for business early in the season.

    The $100 Prize Essay on the Cultivation of the Potato; and How to Cook the Potato

    D. H. Compton and Pierre Blot

British Dictionary definitions for black rat

black rat

noun
  1. a common rat, Rattus rattus : a household pest that has spread from its native Asia to all countries
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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