pack rat

¹

Or packrat

noun

1. Also called wood rat. Also called trade 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.

3. Informal.,  an old prospector or guide.

pack-rat

²

Or pack·rat

[pak-rat]

verb (used with object)

Informal.

pack-ratted, pack-ratting 

1. to save in the manner of a pack rat.

   I’m looking through the stuff my grandpa pack-ratted away in the attic.

pack rat

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pack rat¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Origin of pack rat²

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

He was a regular pack rat, though smaller.

Read more on Literature

“Very personal things. My roller skates from the 50s when I played street hockey in Brooklyn. I’m a pack rat and a collector. My restaurant was like my gallery, my museum.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

People close to Trump say he has long been a pack rat.

Read more on New York Times

A known pack rat, Trump travels often, throws papers and news clips in cardboard boxes and sometimes instructs that boxes be brought along when he travels.

Read more on Washington Post

“You can say this bird was a little bit of a pack rat,” Castro said as he sifted through acorns.

Read more on Washington Post