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ratcatcher

[rat-kach-er]
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noun
  1. a person, animal, or thing that catches and exterminates rats, especially a person whose business it is to rid a property of rats.
  2. Chiefly British. an informal fox-hunting costume, as a tweed jacket and tan riding breeches.
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Origin of ratcatcher

First recorded in 1585–95; rat + catcher
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rat-catcher

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • And so he resolved that, this time, the rat-catcher should be sent for in earnest.

  • The rat-catcher had been and gone, after doing his business and receiving his pay.

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

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper