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
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
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.
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
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 18 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share