rat·ty

[rat-ee]
adjective, rat·ti·er, rat·ti·est.
1.
full of rats.
2.
of or characteristic of a rat.
3.
wretched; shabby: a ratty, old overcoat.
4.
Slang. irritable or angry; bad-tempered; nasty: I always feel ratty when I wake up.

Origin:
1860–65; rat + -y1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Ratty
00:10
Ratty is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
ratty (ˈrætɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , -tier, -tiest
1.  informal (Brit), (NZ) irritable; annoyed
2.  informal (of the hair) unkempt or greasy
3.  slang (US), (Canadian) shabby; dilapidated
4.  slang (Austral)
 a.  angry
 b.  mad
5.  of, like, or full of rats
 
'rattily
 
adv
 
'rattiness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Example sentences
They're a ragged group in knit caps and ratty coats, hunched over their
  keyboards.
My ratty old toy box was animated into a rectangular troll that had eaten all
  of my favorite possessions.
Weaver said when the signs get ratty they do need to be replaced with new ones.
You're sure your ratty underwear is showing, and you're a charlatan and a fraud.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT