Wood rat Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of various small short-tailed rodents of the northern hemisphere having soft fur grey above and white below with furred tails and large ears; some are hosts for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)
    wood-rat.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially N. Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), any one of several species of American wild rats of the genus Neotoma found in the Southern United States; called also bush rat. The Florida wood rat (Neotoma Floridana) is the best-known species.
  2. (Zoöl.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially N. Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.

Webster 1913