Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

water rat

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.15 in modern English

Syllables
wa-ter rat
IPA
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various aquatic or semi-aquatic rodents from Florida and southern Georgia, especially Neofiber alleni; the muskrat.

American usage

noun

A water mouse, especially, the rakali, Hydromys chrysogaster.

Australian usage

noun

A European water vole (Arvicola amphibius, formerly Arvicola terrestris).

Informal

noun

A petty thief or waterfront ruffian.

American usage; Slang

noun

A person fond of water sports.

Slang

noun

A member of the water police.

Australian usage; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

From water + rat. Compare Saterland Frisian Woaterrotte, West Frisian wetterrôt, Dutch waterrat, German Low German Waterrötte, Waterrött, German Wasserratte, Danish vandrotte, Swedish vattenråtta, Icelandic vatnsrotta.

Usage

Inflected Forms

water rats (plural) waterrat (alternative) water-rat (alternative)

Phrases

Ziegler's water rat beaver-rat

Frequently Paired Words

beaver-rat

Synonyms

water vole arvicola amphibius water dog

Questions

What does water rat mean?
Any of various aquatic or semi-aquatic rodents from Florida and southern Georgia, especially Neofiber alleni; the muskrat.
Where does water rat come from?
From water + rat. Compare Saterland Frisian Woaterrotte, West Frisian wetterrôt, Dutch waterrat, German Low German Waterrötte, Waterrött, German Wasserratte, Danish vandrotte, Swedish vattenråtta, Icelandic vatnsrotta.

How to pronounce water rat

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “water rat”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “water rat”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “water rat” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.