ratcatcher

[ rat-kach-er ]

/ ˈrætˌkætʃ ər /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of ratcatcher

First recorded in 1585–95; rat + catcher

How to use ratcatcher 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
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
Growling horribly, the enraged brute seized poor Pearson and shook him as a terrier dog shakes a rat.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
I was here a little while ago and nobody answered my knock, though I could hear that typewriter going rat, tat, tat all the time.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Rat this pawn of the Eye may have been, but even a cornered rat will fight with the courage of a lion.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ratcatcher

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