wood rat

noun

: any of numerous soft-furred cricetid rodents (especially genus Neotoma) of North and Central America that have well-furred tails, large ears, and a characteristic tendency to hoard food and debris on or near their dens

called also pack rat

Examples of wood rat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Many types of animals can be affected by plague, including rock squirrels, wood rats, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, mice, voles and rabbits. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 9 July 2024 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the bacteria that is known to have caused the plague, called Yersinia pestis, is transmitted through the fleas that live on mice, wood rats, voles, squirrels, groundhogs, and other rodents. Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2023 The new study says nothing about possible reservoirs, but parasitologists have long known that leishmania parasites exist in Southern Plains wood rats, says Molyneux, who was not involved in the study. Simon Makin, Scientific American, 19 Oct. 2023 Pack rats, also known as wood rats, are notorious for collecting an odd assortment of items from their surroundings to make their nests, called middens. Sadie Witkowski, Smithsonian, 15 Nov. 2019 And many of the reporters who held the job later considered her the best, churning out stories on everything from backdoor political deals to disappearing wood rats. Jenny Staletovich and Glenn Garvin, miamiherald, 3 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wood rat was in 1763

Dictionary Entries Near wood rat

Cite this Entry

“Wood rat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wood%20rat. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

wood rat

noun
: any of numerous soft-furred rodents of North and Central America that have furry tails, large ears, and a tendency to hoard food and debris compare pack rat
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!