packrat
packrat Lexical Profile
packrat Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A person who collects or hoards items, especially unnecessary or trivial things, and is reluctant to throw anything away.
"My grandfather was a notorious packrat whose garage was filled with decades of old newspapers and broken appliances."
North American Any of several nocturnal North American rodents of the genus Neotoma (family Cricetidae), having large ears and a hairy tail, noted for carrying small, bright objects to their large stick nests.
"While camping in the desert, we noticed a packrat scurrying away with a shiny bottle cap toward its nest."
• verb
North American To hoard, accumulate, or save things, especially items of little value or no immediate use.
"She tends to packrat empty glass jars and cardboard boxes in the basement just in case she needs them later."
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in late 19th-century American English from the combination of 'pack' and 'rat', referring to the rodent's instinctive habit of carrying off small, shiny objects to store in its nest.