Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Ratten

Ratten (rat"t'n) , transitive verb

[Prov. English ratten a rat, hence the verb literally means, to do mischief like a rat.]

To deprive feloniously of the tools used in one's employment (as by breaking or stealing them), for the purpose of annoying; as, to ratten a mechanic who works during a strike. [Trades-union Cant] — J. McCarthy