What it means
The one everything gets tested on, just like the rats in a laboratory. A lab rat is the willing or unwilling subject of an experiment, the person who tries the new system, the new drug or the new schedule first so everyone else can stand back and watch what happens.
Usage examples
"I signed up to be a lab rat for the sleep study, three nights wired up to machines for a bit of cash."
"The marketing team needed lab rats for the new mobile app, I volunteered, got the beta version on my phone for two weeks, and reported sixteen bugs before the official launch."
"Mum has been a lab rat for every new diet on the market since the nineties, started Atkins in 2003, did keto last winter, and now refuses to talk about food at family dinners."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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