pack rat

or packrat

See synonyms for pack rat on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Informal. an old prospector or guide.

Origin of pack rat

First recorded in 1840–50

Words Nearby pack rat

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.

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

First recorded in 1870–75

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pack rat in a sentence

Luckily for history’s sake, Glenn was something of a pack rat, saving everything from elementary school drawings to class papers to his post-Mercury notes about space travel — all of it housed at the John Glenn Archives at Ohio State.
America needed a space race hero. John Glenn was the obvious choice. | Douglas Brinkley | May 28, 2021 | Washington Post
The pack-rat ran back to its hole and made its exit without loss of time, but Clarice sobbed aloud in hysterical fear.
Hope Hathaway | Frances Parker
Except at the locality in Cherokee County, the pack rat, Neotoma floridana, was found in association with the brush mouse.
Natural History of the Brush Mouse (Peromyscus boylii) in Kansas With Description of a New Subspecies | Charles A. Long
Nests of sticks and leaves were taken apart by Metcalf, and all sign indicated only the presence of the pack rat.
Natural History of the Brush Mouse (Peromyscus boylii) in Kansas With Description of a New Subspecies | Charles A. Long
It was a pack rat, sometimes called a trade rat, paying us a visit.
The Boy Scouts Book of Campfire Stories | Various

Then we also have the pack rat, but the pack rat does not carry things with our consent.
The Book of Camp-Lore and Woodcraft | Dan Beard

British Dictionary definitions for pack rat

pack rat

noun

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

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