brown rat
noun
: a common domestic rat (Rattus norvegicus) that has been introduced worldwide
called also Norway rat
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The two most commonly found in urban areas are the black rat (Rattus rattus), which originated in India about 3,000 years ago, and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), which hails from Mongolia and China and probably didn’t arrive in Europe until around the 1300s.
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Jason Bittel, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Sewer rats are brown rats that live in sewers, and street rats are brown rats that live on the streets.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2026
There's a lot of work being done on invasive predators, such as the brown rat.
—Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 29 Dec. 2025
For the first time, a brown rat has been caught on camera actively hunting bats.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025
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Jason Bittel, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Sewer rats are brown rats that live in sewers, and street rats are brown rats that live on the streets.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2026
There's a lot of work being done on invasive predators, such as the brown rat.
—Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 29 Dec. 2025
For the first time, a brown rat has been caught on camera actively hunting bats.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brown rat
Cite this Entry
“Brown rat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brown%20rat. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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