lab rat
noun [ C ] uk/ˈlæb ˌræt/ us/ˈlæb ˌræt/
实验用鼠
a rat (= an animal like a large mouse) that is used in a scientific experiment
At very high levels, the chemical has killed lab rats who breathed it. 在浓度非常高的情况下，这种化学物质已经导致吸入的实验用鼠死亡。
作为实验（或测试）对象的人（或物），实验用鼠（比喻）
a person or thing that is used as part of a scientific experiment or to test something new
She felt the medical profession had used her mother as a lab rat. 她觉得医学界把自己的母亲当成了实验用鼠来对待。
The state can be a good lab rat so that others can see how deregulation could work. 可以在这个州身上做实验，让别的州看到放松管制的效果。
- More examples
- Lab rats with electrodes implanted in their brains will repeatedly press a bar to get electrical stimulation.
- When lab rats sleep, their brains revisit the maze they navigated during the day.
- We can't really use him as a lab rat to figure out why this happened.
- If a doctor knows you're well informed you're less likely to become a lab rat.
- He says the plant is useful as a lab rat because it is small and goes to seed in a matter of days.
- Bonnethead sharks are scrutinized by so many marine biologists that Chapman joked they're known as the "lab rats of the shark world."