What does "brat" mean?
A human child.
Brat
/bɹæt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A human child.
- Grammar: brat is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bratwurst, bully, child, child.
- Useful contrasts: adult, angel, mature person.
- Usage evidence: Thanks, I hear you've been taking care of my little brat of a brother.
How to use "brat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "brat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "brat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "brat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "brat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "brat" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bratwurst" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "brat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A human child. countable, slang, uncountable
""So... you want to have kids someday?" "Uh... well, yes. I always figured I'd have a couple brats of my own someday..." "That's still doable, you know." "I know, but the process is a lot more complicated and less intimate, and --""
- 2 Bratwurst. informal
"There are many people loitering, eating ice cream, talking, eating brats."
- 3 A thin bed of coal mixed with pyrites or carbonate of lime.
- 4 Acronym of bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast, the basis of a diet formerly recommended for an upset stomach. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
"For diarrhea caused by a stomach virus or a meal that didn’t agree with you, try the BRAT diet, says James Lee, MD, gastroenterologist with St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif."
- 5 a small pork sausage wordnet
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 A human child.; A child who is regarded as mischievous, unruly, spoiled, or selfish. countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"a spoiled brat"
- 7 Acronym of Bradley reactive armor tile. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 8 a very troublesome child wordnet
- 9 A human child.; The qualities possessed by a confident and assertive woman. neologism, slang, uncountable
"Here are the people and the styles at the DNC that embodied the brat ethos."
- 10 A human child.; A child (at any age) of an active member of the military or the diplomatic service. countable, slang, uncountable
"an army brat"
- 11 A human child.; A submissive partner who is disobedient and unruly. countable, slang, uncountable
- 12 A turbot or flatfish. countable, uncountable
"For the crabby awd dealers in ling, cod, and brats / And the vurgins that tempt us wi' nice maiden skyet..."
- 13 A rough cloak or ragged garment. countable, historical, uncountable
"The chief's daughter wears a brat and léine girdled with a criss."
- 14 A coarse kind of apron for keeping the clothes clean; a bib. Scotland, UK, countable, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable
"[She] had still on the rough worsted apron of nappy homespun wool, called a "brat"."
- 15 The young of an animal. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Their ſhoulders broad, for complet armour fit, Their lims more large and of a bigger ſize Than all the brats yſprong from Typhons loins:"
Verb
- 1 To act in a bratty manner as the submissive. intransitive
"Ruthie was Ed's own submissive, a short, pretty, feisty ash-blonde New York City native who combined her submission to Ed with a good deal of mischievous bratting and a lot of sharp, intelligent conversation […]"
Adjective
- 1 Characteristic of a confident and assertive woman. neologism
"kamala IS brat"
Example
"Thanks, I hear you've been taking care of my little brat of a brother."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "brat"?
Common synonyms include: bratwurst, bully, child, child, chit, elf.
How do you use "brat" in a sentence?
Thanks, I hear you've been taking care of my little brat of a brother.
How do you pronounce "brat"?
Pronounced /bɹæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Early Modern English (c. 1500) slang term meaning "beggar's child". Possibly from Scots bratchet (“bitch, hound”). Another possibility is that it was originally a dialectal word, from northern and western England and the Midlands, for a "makeshift or ragged garment," from Old English bratt (“cloak”), which is from a Celtic source (Old Irish brat (“cloak, cloth”)). In the sense "characteristic of a confident and assertive woman", coined by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX in her 2024 album Brat.
Etymology 2
Clipping of bratwurst, from German Bratwurst.