brat

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /bræt/ UK /bræt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a badly behaved or spoiled child

The spoiled brat screamed until his mother bought the toy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a badly behaved or spoiled... urchin imp rascal whelp scamp

Word family

Forms bratty

Derived forms brattishbrattinessbratty

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, recorded from the 16th century; perhaps from dialectal brat ('a coarse garment, rag'), from Old Irish bratt ('cloak'), or possibly imitative. The development to 'spoiled child' is unclear.

Topics

People & Society

External links

# brat

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bræt/
**IPA (UK):** /bræt/

## Meanings
1. a badly behaved or spoiled child

## Examples
- The spoiled brat screamed until his mother bought the toy.

## Synonyms
- urchin
- imp
- rascal
- whelp
- scamp

## Derived Forms
- brattish
- brattiness
- bratty

## Etymology
Of uncertain origin, recorded from the 16th century; perhaps from dialectal brat ('a coarse garment, rag'), from Old Irish bratt ('cloak'), or possibly imitative. The development to 'spoiled child' is unclear.

## AI Etymology
Brat is of uncertain origin, recorded from the 16th century; perhaps from dialectal brat ('a coarse garment, rag'), from Old Irish bratt ('cloak'), or possibly imitative. The development to 'spoiled child' is unclear. Its deeper history remains uncertain, with proposed links left as possibilities rather than a single settled derivation. The current sense covers a badly behaved or spoiled child. The wider family includes derived forms such as brattish, brattiness, and bratty.

## Topics
- People & Society

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