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.

black rat

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of black rat¹

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

According to the RSPCA, there are only two species of rats living in the UK - brown rats and black rats.

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Department of Agriculture has added black rats to the growing list of mammals that have been infected by H5N1 bird flu.

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Outbreaks there are associated with agriculture, deforestation, the black rat -- and fleas.

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Soon after their arrival, the bones suggest, brown rats began to rapidly outcompete black rats in coastal cities, eventually eating their smaller relatives out of house and home.

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One probable reason they dominated, researchers suggest, is that they ate food black rats would otherwise have consumed – which may have reduced reproduction among black rats.

Read more on Seattle Times