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.
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.
First recorded in 1840–50
First recorded in 1870–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My father, always a tyrant, had become a pack rat.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2022
He had known that his mother, Sandy Quimby, a half-hour away in Eagle River, was a pack rat.
From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2020
He is a pack rat, and kept the original packaging.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 22, 2019
But don’t call Bommarito a pack rat or a hoarder.
From Washington Times • Nov. 9, 2018
He was a regular pack rat, though smaller.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
