Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

brat

play
noun \ˈbrat\

Definition of brat

  1. 1a disparaging :  child; specifically :  an ill-mannered annoying child a spoiled bratb :  an ill-mannered immature person

  2. 2 :  the child of a career military person army brats; also :  the child of a person whose career is in a specified and typically unusual field Hollywood brats

brattiness

play \ˈbra-tē-nəs\ noun

brattish

play \ˈbra-tish\ adjective

bratty

play \-tē\ adjective

Read the Latest from M-W

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?
istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
image599301899
Pretty in 'Pink'
alt-5953d7f904965
'Patriot' Hasn't Always Been Positive

Origin and Etymology of brat

perhaps from English dialect brat coarse garment

2

brat

play
noun \ˈbrät, ˈbrat\

Definition of brat

  1. :  bratwurst

Origin and Etymology of brat

by shortening

BRAT Defined for Kids

brat

play
noun \ˈbrat\

Definition of brat for Students

  1. :  a naughty annoying child

Learn More about brat

  1. Spanish Central: Translation of brat Nglish: Translation of brat for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of brat for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up brat? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

culminate

play

to reach the highest or a decisive point

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. bona fide Made in good faith

  2. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  3. zealot A fanatical partisan

  4. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  5. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

brat

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5953d7f904965
'Patriot' Hasn't Always Been Positive

The word has roots in a religious rivalry

alt-5949565fc7d94
'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar

Not just for pick-up artists anymore

alt-5947fc40f1b5c
In Tech, What Does 'K' Mean?

A buzzword with a long history.

alt-5951697e1a410
When To Use 'Specious' vs. 'Spurious'

These similar words are not interchangeable

Ask the Editors

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game