pack rat
noun
1
: wood rat
especially
: a bushy-tailed rodent (Neotoma cinerea) of western North America that has well-developed cheek pouches and that hoards food and miscellaneous objects
2
: a person who collects or hoards especially unneeded items
Examples of pack rat in a Sentence
I'm a terrible pack rat. I never throw anything away.
Recent Examples on the Web
After a brief hike through some scrub, Wall finds a creosote bush studded with holes at the roots — evidence of pack rats that will provide the snake with sustenance.
—
Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024
Working from the assumption that hoarding is a damaging psychological condition, and not just an annoying habit, the researchers got previously incorrigible pack rats to take videos and photos of their treasured possessions.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2023
Hoff has a unique combination of long experience with electronic design and long-standing pack rat habits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2022
One of my favorite episodes features the pack rats Patty and Debra.
—Morgan Meis, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pack rat 
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Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024
Working from the assumption that hoarding is a damaging psychological condition, and not just an annoying habit, the researchers got previously incorrigible pack rats to take videos and photos of their treasured possessions.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2023
Hoff has a unique combination of long experience with electronic design and long-standing pack rat habits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2022
One of my favorite episodes features the pack rats Patty and Debra.
—Morgan Meis, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
See all Example Sentences for pack rat
Dictionary Entries Near pack rat
Cite this Entry
“Pack rat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pack%20rat. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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