rat on
rat on — 片語動詞
- rat onbase form
- rats on3rd person singular
- ratting on-ing form
- ratted onpast simple
1. to tell someone in authority about another person's secrets or wrong actions, or
告密；食言
向權威者告發他人，或違背承諾
to tell someone in authority about another person's secrets or wrong actions, or to break a promise you made to someone
Amara ratted on her brother and told the police where the stolen bikes were hidden.
Amara 向警方告密，說出她哥哥把偷來的腳踏車藏在哪裡。
rat on + person: inform on someone to authorities
Raj promised to help us move, but ratted on the deal at the last minute.
Raj 答應要幫忙搬家，卻在最後一刻食言了。
rat on + deal: break an agreement
Dmitri ratted on his colleagues to the manager after he saw them stealing office supplies.
Dmitri 看到同事偷拿辦公用品後，向主管告發了他們。
Keiko refused to rat on her classmates, even when the head teacher threatened detention.
即使校長威脅要留校察看，Keiko 仍拒絕出賣她的同學。
The builder ratted on his contract and left the kitchen half-finished for two months.
那個工頭違背合約，把廚房工程擱置了兩個月沒做完。
- tell on
more common in children's speech; less formal than 'rat on'
- inform on
more formal; often used in legal or official contexts
- go back on
only covers the promise-breaking meaning, not the informing meaning
文法句型
rat on + [person]
rat on + [promise/agreement/deal]
用法筆記
This phrasal verb has two distinct uses. When the object is a person, it means informing on them to an authority figure. When the object is a deal, promise, or agreement, it means failing to keep your word. The subject is almost always a person, never an institution.