Word.ws English Dictionary

rattrap

rattrap noun: a device (trap) used to catch rats.

rattrap: a device (trap) used to catch rats
Image: Capt. Phœbus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

rattrap (plural rattraps)

  1. A device (trap) used to catch rats.
    • ... the whole world with its lands and seas, its cities and villages - was nothing but a big rattrap. It had never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon...(Can we date this quote?), Selma Lagerlöf, The Rattrap
  2. A dilapidated building, a place that is run down and unsanitary.
  3. A difficult, entangling situation.
  4. A type of bicycle pedal made of metal with no rubber.

rattrap meaning in Malayalam and Vietnamese

rattrap in Malayalam

device used to catch rats
എലിക്കെണി elikkeṇi

rattrap in Vietnamese

device used to catch rats
bẫy chuột

Forms of rattrap

pluralrattraps
alternative formrat trap
alternative formrat-trap

Origin of rattrap

From Middle English rat trappe; equivalent to rat + trap.

Questions about rattrap

What does rattrap mean?
Rattrap means a device (trap) used to catch rats.
What is rattrap in Malayalam?
Rattrap in Malayalam is എലിക്കെണി (elikkeṇi). See Rattrap meaning in Malayalam.
What part of speech is rattrap?
Rattrap is a noun.
What is the plural of rattrap?
The plural of rattrap is rattraps.

Words near rattrap in the dictionary

  1. rattoon
  2. rattooned
  3. rattooning
  4. rattoons
  5. Rattos
  6. rattrap
  7. rattraps
  8. Rattray
  9. Rattue
  10. Rattues
  11. ratty

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rattrap (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “rattrap.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rattrap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.