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 was the biggest pack rat there ever was,” he said.
From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022
The Rat Pack connoisseur confesses to being a bit of a pack rat.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2021
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
That side of meat had been a big one, but now there wasn’t enough meat left on the rind to interest a pack rat.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
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.
