rat-kangaroo

[ rat-kang-guh-roo ]

/ ˈrætˌkæŋ gəˌru /

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noun, plural rat-kan·ga·roos.

any of several rabbit-sized, ratlike Australian kangaroos of the subfamily Potoroinae.

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Origin of rat-kangaroo

First recorded in 1840–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use rat-kangaroo in a sentence

One rat had once fallen on his head, he said, during a rat raid of a local home.
The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark|Liza Foreman|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since rat root comes from a plant that grows on the edge of the lake there are concerns that the plant is carrying toxins.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chief Adam offers us some of the local medicine called rat root.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The episode includes satirical images of crime-ridden, rat-infested slums overrun by child-biting monkeys.
Mr. Simpson Goes to Washington: How Homer Influenced Politics|Asawin Suebsaeng|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A cabin filled with the Rat Pack and the ladies who loved them.
Frank Sinatra and the Birth of the Jet Set|William Stadiem|August 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Kangaroo can hop and hop and hop; Somehow he never seems to want to stop.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Next morning Judy shouted that there was a rat in the nursery, and thus he forgot to tell her the wonderful news.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He had repeated till he was thrice weary the statement that "the Cat lay on the Mat and the Rat came in."
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Nqa is very much surprised, because he has never seen a Kangaroo dance like that before.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
You can see the marks of Kangaroo's big new feet running ever so far back over the bare hills.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for rat-kangaroo

rat kangaroo

noun

any of several ratlike kangaroos of the genera Bettongia, Potorous, Aepyprymnus, etc, found on the Australian mainland and in Tasmania

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