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rug rat

noun

Definition of rug ratnext
slang
as in preschooler

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rug rat In a bid to increase his nation’s number of rug rats, Władysław Grochowski, owner of one of Poland’s biggest hotel chains, has pledged to throw a party for every couple who conceives while staying at his properties. — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025 Your standard maternal protagonist is not dropping a trail of pacifiers behind her, swilling goblets of red wine the minute her rug rats are in bed, and secretly vaping in the linen closet? — Chloe Schama, Vogue, 14 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rug rat
  1. preschooler
  2. minor
  3. adolescent
  4. kindergartner
  5. schoolboy
  6. schoolchild
  7. infant
  8. newborn
Noun
  • Encourage your preschooler to be more mindful by teaching them kid-friendly meditation techniques, including deep breathing exercises, mindfulness activities, and even guided sleep meditations.
    — Heather Gowen Walsh, Parents, 13 Aug. 2026
  • For a preschooler, the cost was $1,121 at a home and $1,271 at a center.
    — Kate Sequeira, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of preschooler
Noun
  • All co-defendants in the new lawsuit have been accused of negligence in failing to protect a minor.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Jeffrey Epstein In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to charges including soliciting a minor for prostitution and surrendered to the Palm Beach County jail that June.
    — Steve Pickett, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of minor
Noun
  • Getty An island that had spent decades pairing glamour with license was perhaps the wrong place to entrust an adolescent to unusually permissive relatives.
    — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
  • One adolescent possibly had contact with the bat, officials said.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of adolescent
Noun
  • Palladino was a kindergartner in Brooklyn when classmates suddenly began being called over the school PA system to go home.
    — Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Matt and Danielle Bishop of Norridge brought their daughters Elizabeth, 5, a kindergartner, and Persephone, 3.
    — Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of kindergartner
Noun
  • One picture shows a schoolboy Rogers at the Hawks’ annual presentation evening, wearing a tie in their red and blue colours.
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • With the sprightly energy of a schoolboy, Jean-Paul Doron bounds into an empty creek, his red suede shoes scraping pale rocks.
    — Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of schoolboy
Noun
  • Learning to read and write cursive was once a rite of passage for practically every American schoolchild.
    — Washington Post, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Would that every schoolchild could stand on the grassy knoll for a quiet minute, pondering the imponderables.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Definition of schoolchild
Noun
  • Instead, the researchers theorize that the two stars were born in individual clouds of gas and dust, before a chance encounter brought the two infant stars and their respective natal cocoons together.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This matters because nipples, pacifiers, pump valves, and similar accessories come into direct contact with an infant’s mouth or expressed milk.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of infant
Noun
  • Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that can be especially dangerous for older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant individuals and newborns.
    — Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Pregnant people and their newborns are also particularly vulnerable; an infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or a life-threatening infection in the newborn.
    — Amber Brenza, HEALTH, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of newborn

Browse Nearby Words

ruggedness
rug rat
rug rats
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Cite this Entry

“Rug rat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rug%20rat. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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