rat terrier
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of rat terrier
First recorded in 1850–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I don’t know anyone who could contest that she is the strongest rat terrier in the world,” says Quinn.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Phoebe Yung of Brooklyn adopted a pandemic pup, a rat terrier named Moose.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2022
I just did the ancestry thing, and she’s mainly Australian shepherd, Chihuahua and rat terrier.
From New York Times • Sep. 24, 2021
A miniature Chihuahua and rat terrier mix, Midge joined the Sheriff’s Office in early 2006 as a pup, from a litter owned by a department employee.
From Washington Times • Apr. 19, 2021
For some inscrutable reason, Caradoc had headed the Vulcan clear around and now faced the enemy, like a rat terrier amid a battle of mastiffs.
From The Cruise of the Dry Dock by Stribling, T. S.
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.
