Norway rat

noun

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).

Similar
Norwegian ratsewer ratbrown ratRattus norvegicus
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounNorway rat (plural Norway rats)

plural Norway rats

  1. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).

    Synonyms: Norwegian rat, sewer rat

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).

Similar
Norwegian ratsewer rat

More synonyms by meaning

nouncommon domestic rat; serious pest worldwide

Similar
brown ratRattus norvegicus
Broader
rat
Also see
brown ratnorwegian ratsewer rat

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

The common name was popularised (and perhaps coined) by English naturalist John Berkenhout, in his Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain (1769). Berkenhout believed the species migrated to England from Norwegian ships in 1728; he is also responsible for the scientific name.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Norway rat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Norway%20rat

MLA

“Norway rat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Norway%20rat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Norway rat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Norway%20rat.

Source: Norway rat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.