cat

¹

[ kat ]

noun

1. a small domesticated carnivore, Felis domestica or F. catus, bred in a number of varieties.
2. any of several carnivores of the family Felidae, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, etc.
3. Older Slang.
   1. a person, especially a man:

      I'll admit that I'm not the hippest cat in town but even I know that show.

   2. a devotee of jazz:

      That cat's got a great ear, but he can't sing or play himself.

4. a woman given to spiteful or malicious gossip.
5. a cat-o'-nine-tails.
6. Games.
   1. Chiefly British. the game of tipcat, or the tapering piece of wood used in the game.
   2. one old cat, two old cat, three old cat, four old cat.
7. a catboat.
8. a catamaran.
9. a catfish.
10. Obsolete. the fur of the domestic cat.
11. Nautical. a tackle used in hoisting an anchor to the cathead, a projecting timber or metal beam where the anchor is secured.
12. a double tripod having six legs but resting on only three no matter how it is set down, usually used before or over a fire.
13. Navy Informal. catapult ( def 2 ).
14. (in medieval warfare) a movable shelter for providing protection when approaching a fortification.

verb (used with object)

, cat·ted, cat·ting.

1. to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
2. Nautical. to hoist (an anchor) and secure to a cathead, a projecting timber or metal beam where the anchor is secured.

verb (used without object)

, cat·ted, cat·ting.

1. British Slang. to vomit.

verb phrase

1. Slang.
   1. to seek sexual activity indiscriminately:

      Many of these celebrities have catted around despite being married.

   2. to spend one's time aimlessly or idly:

      We're going out to the country to hunt, explore, and just cat around a bit.

Cat

²

[ kat ]

Trademark.

1. a Caterpillar tractor.

CAT

³

1. clear-air turbulence.
2. Medicine/Medical. computerized axial tomography.

cat.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. catalog; catalogue.
2. catechism.

cat

¹

/ kæt /

noun

1. Also calleddomestic cat a small domesticated feline mammal, Felis catus (or domesticus ), having thick soft fur and occurring in many breeds in which the colour of the fur varies greatly: kept as a pet or to catch rats and mice
2. Also calledbig cat any of the larger felines, such as a lion or tiger
3. any wild feline mammal of the genus Felis, such as the lynx or serval, resembling the domestic cat feline
4. old-fashioned.
   a woman who gossips maliciously
5. slang.
   a man; guy
6. nautical a heavy tackle for hoisting an anchor to the cathead
7. a short sharp-ended piece of wood used in the game of tipcat
8. short for catboat
9. informal.
   short for Caterpillar
10. short for cat-o'-nine-tails
11. a bag of cats informal.
    a bad-tempered person

    she's a real bag of cats this morning

12. fight like Kilkenny cats
    to fight until both parties are destroyed
13. let the cat out of the bag
    to disclose a secret, often by mistake
14. like a cat on a hot tin roof or like a cat on hot bricks
    in an uneasy or agitated state
15. like cat and dog
    quarrelling savagely
16. look like something the cat brought in
    to appear dishevelled or bedraggled
17. not a cat in hell's chance
    no chance at all
18. not have room to swing a cat
    to have very little space
19. play cat and mouse
    to play with a person or animal in a cruel or teasing way, esp before a final act of cruelty or unkindness
20. put the cat among the pigeons
    to introduce some violently disturbing new element
21. rain cats and dogs
    to rain very heavily

verb

1. tr to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails
2. tr nautical to hoist (an anchor) to the cathead
3. intr a slang word for vomit

CAT

²

abbreviation for

1. computer-aided teaching
2. computer-assisted trading

cat

³

/ kæt /

noun

1. 1. short for catalytic converter
   2. ( as modifier )

      a cat car

adjective

1. short for catalytic

   a cat cracker

cat.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. catalogue
2. catamaran

cat

⁵

/ kæt /

noun

1. informal.
   short for catamaran

Derived Forms

• ˈcatˌlike, adjective
• ˈcattish, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English cat, catte, Old English catt (masculine), catte (feminine); cognate with Old Frisian, Middle Dutch katte, Old High German kazza, Old Norse kǫttr; akin to Late Latin cattus, catta (first recorded in the 4th century, presumably with the introduction of domestic cats); further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of cat¹

Old English catte, from Latin cattus; related to Old Norse köttr, Old High German kazza, Old French chat, Russian kot

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bell the cat, to attempt something formidable or dangerous:

   The question at the moment is who will bell the cat, since nobody on the board is willing to tell the CEO she's fired.

2. cat got your tongue?, (used to ask why someone is not speaking):

   You've been awfully quiet—cat got your tongue?

3. enough to make a cat laugh, very funny, outrageous, or absurd:

   Hearing these politicians talk about the lives of everyday people is enough to make a cat laugh.

4. let the cat out of the bag, to divulge a secret, especially inadvertently or carelessly:

   He let the cat out of the bag, and the surprise party wasn't a surprise after all.

5. look like something the cat dragged in, to look tired, unkempt, ugly, etc.:

   You look like something the cat dragged in—go have a shower and a nap.

6. look what the cat dragged in, Often Facetious. (used to acknowledge someone's arrival while implying that they look bad or are unwelcome):

   Darn it, he's here. Look what the cat dragged in!

7. the cat that ate / swallowed / got the canary, someone who is self-satisfied, proud, or pleased:

   She won the contest by a hair and walked around like the cat that ate the canary for the rest of the month.

8. curiosity killed the cat. curiosity ( def 5 ).
9. fight like cats and dogs. fight ( def 18 ).
10. rain cats and dogs. rain ( def 13 ).

More idioms and phrases containing cat

• alley cat
• bell the cat
• curiosity killed the cat
• fat cat
• grin like a Cheshire cat
• let the cat out of the bag
• like a cat on a hot brick
• look like something the cat dragged in
• look like the cat that ate the canary
• more than one way to skin a cat
• not enough room to swing a cat
• play cat and mouse
• rain cats and dogs
• when the cat's away

Example Sentences

He had Steinway program a player piano to perform “Mad Rush” with Glass pounding playing style, and he had his roaming camera observe the big cat’s response to the music.

From Los Angeles Times

Over the weekend, a lot of people asked me about the 4B movement in South Korea, which I mentioned in passing in the "cat lady" column.

From Salon

On Election Day, millions of Americans elected a Republican national ticket whose vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, regularly denounced women who avoid traditional lifestyles as “childless cat ladies.”

From Salon

People in Thailand are accusing a high-profile television drama of potentially abusing animals after a cat was shown convulsing on the ground.

From BBC

Funded by the Getty, institutions throughout the region have come up with projects — and we get whatever the cat drags in.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bobcat
• caracal
• cheetah
• cougar
• jaguar
• leopard
• lion
• lynx
• mountain lion
• ocelot
• panther
• puma
• tiger
• wildcat

More About Cat

Where does the word cat come from?

While cats may be more enigmatic and reclusive than dogs in real life, when it comes to the source of the word cat, it’s a bit easier to grasp.

The origin of the word dog is one of the great mysteries of English etymology. Learn why in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”

The word cat is recorded in Old English, and hasn’t changed much since. (Hey, if it isn’t broken why fix it?) The masculine form was catt, the feminine catte.

The word cat is most likely related to the Late Latin cattus, source of some other cat words you may have heard, including the Spanish gato and French chat.

Now that you know how cats got their name, why not find out how some of our other most beloved pets got theirs in the slideshow: “Where Do The Words For Our Pets Come From?”

Did you know … ?

Cats are actually an interesting case among domesticated animals. Recent research has shown that—unlike the other animals humans have domesticated, such as dogs, pigs, cows, and horses—cats have not changed much at all genetically and physically over thousands of years. And, yet, cats have clearly lived alongside humans for a long time, as even ancient Egyptian art depicts cats living in people’s homes. Cats’ behaviors compel some experts to refer to them as “semi-domesticated,” “self-domesticated,” or not domesticated at all.

The International Cat Association currently recognizes 71 breeds of cat breeds, ranging from the American Shorthair and Maine Coon to the Savannah cat and Bengal cat. (No, Doja Cat isn’t the name of a pedigree cat; it’s the stage name of Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, a hip-hop artist who broke into the mainstream with her 2019 album Hot Pink.)On average, domestic cats live for around 15 years, and spend over half that time sleeping—their wakeful hours, of course, pulsing with purring. But why do cats purr? The exact answer remains a mystery, but cats purr when they are both content and nervous, and they make the sound by moving the muscles in their larynx, which causes the air to vibrate. Some scientists think purring evolved as a way to calm themselves down.

Our relationship to cats have inspired a great number of idioms, such as:

• cat got one’s tongue
• curiosity killed the cat
• let the cat out of the bag
• more than one way to skin a cat

Cats have also excited a lot of contemporary internet slang and language play, from LOLcat to cat memes like Nyan Cat, Grumpy Cat, Woman Yells at Cat, and many more.