Meanings
nounrat virus (plural rat viruses)
plural rat viruses
- colloquialA virus carried by rats (or rodents in general), in particular a hantavirus.
Christened the “rat virus boat” by the internet after three people travelling onboard died of hantavirus, a disease normally carried by rats and mice, its story has enraptured people all over the world.
2026 May 11, Robyn Vinter, “‘It was either this or the pool’: hantavirus ship becomes latest Tenerife tourist attraction”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Cite this entry
APA
rat virus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20virus
MLA
“rat virus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20virus. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rat virus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20virus.
Source: rat virus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.