ratcatcher

[rat-kach-er]

noun

a person, animal, or thing that catches and exterminates rats, especially a person whose business it is to rid a property of rats.

Chiefly British. an informal fox-hunting costume, as a tweed jacket and tan riding breeches.

Origin of ratcatcher

First recorded in 1585–95; rat + catcher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rat-catcher

Historical Examples of rat-catcher

The coming man, so long expected, is it seems the rat-catcher.
Curiosities of Civilization
Andrew Wynter
What the musket is to the soldier, the spade is to the rat-catcher.
Studies in the Art of Rat-catching
H. C. Barkley
And so he resolved that, this time, the rat-catcher should be sent for in earnest.
The Old Willow Tree and Other Stories
Carl Ewald
The rat-catcher had been and gone, after doing his business and receiving his pay.
The Old Willow Tree and Other Stories
Carl Ewald
The rat-catcher was furious when he saw her coming back before her time.
The Blue Moon
Laurence Housman

British Dictionary definitions for rat-catcher

rat-catcher

noun

a person whose job is to destroy or drive away vermin, esp rats

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

Word Origin and History for rat-catcher

1590s, from rat (n.) + catcher.