ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Ratting

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Ratting is a verb meaning present participle and gerund of rat.

Meaning

present participle and gerund of rat.

More Meanings

  1. (uncountable) A vocation involving the pest control of rats, typically using a working terrier.
  2. Desertion of one's principles.
  3. Working as a scab, against trade union policies.
  4. (archaic) The blood sport of setting a dog upon rats confined in a pit to see how many he will kill in a given time.

Example Sentences

Don't go ratting to the police about what happened.
Bear and bull baiting, dog fights, cockfighting, ratting, and other blood sports were attacked as un-Christian […]
Such men usually satisfied their needs for leisure in the patronage of saloons or in such “blood” sports as cockfights or rattings.
The RSPCA were well aware that ratting was legally ambiguous, and when they received a report of a conviction for ratting in Hull in 1868 they doubted the legality of it.

Word Forms

Synonyms for ratting

Depending on context, synonyms include rat-baiting, informing.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include informing, rat-baiting, baiting, bearbaiting, rattler, gibbetting.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.