Phrase guide

lab rat

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A student or employee who spends a great deal of time working in a laboratory.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test, especially unwillingly or unwittingly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Cantonese: 白老鼠 (baak6 lou5 syu2) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Chinese Mandarin: 白老鼠 (bái lǎoshǔ) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Dutch: proefkonijn — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Georgian: საცდელი ვირთხა (sacdeli virtxa) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Georgian: საცდელი ბაჭია (sacdeli bač̣ia) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Korean: 모르모트 (moreumoteu) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Polish: królik doświadczalny — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Portuguese: rato de laboratório — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Portuguese: cobaia — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Russian: подо́пытный кро́лик (podópytnyj królik) — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Spanish: conejillo de Indias — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Spanish: cobaya — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Spanish: cobayo — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Swedish: försökskanin — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test
  • Thai: หนูทดลอง — person or group used as the subject of an experiment or test