tunnel rat

noun

A soldier trained to enter enclosed enemy spaces like tunnel systems to search them and eliminate and/or capture any occupants.

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Meanings

nountunnel rat (plural tunnel rats)

plural tunnel rats

  1. informalA soldier trained to enter enclosed enemy spaces like tunnel systems to search them and eliminate and/or capture any occupants.

    He had been serving as a tunnel rat with the 1st Engineer Battalion's team of “Diehard Tunnel Rats.” This group was based in Lai Khe and flew by helicopter to tunnel sites within the division's area of operations.

    2006, Douglas Bey, Wizard 6: A Combat Psychiatrist in Vietnam, Texas A & M University Press
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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