kitty

¹

[ kit-ee ]

noun

, plural kit·ties.

1. a kitten.
2. a pet name for a cat.

kitty

²

[ kit-ee ]

noun

, plural kit·ties.

1. a pool or reserve of money, often collected from a number of persons or sources and designated for a particular purpose specified by the contributors.
2. Cards.
   1. a pool into which players in a game put a certain amount of their winnings for some special purpose, as to pay for refreshments.
   2. the pot, or a special pot, for the collection of forfeits or payments for certain high hands.
   3. widow ( def 2 ).

Kitty

³

[ kit-ee ]

noun

1. a female given name, form of Katherine or Catherine.

kitty

¹

/ ˈkɪtɪ /

noun

1. a diminutive or affectionate name for a kitten cat 1

kitty

²

/ ˈkɪtɪ /

noun

1. the pool of bets in certain gambling games
2. any shared fund of money, etc
3. (in bowls) the jack

Word History and Origins

Origin of kitty¹

First recorded in 1710–20; kitt(en) + -y ²

Origin of kitty²

First recorded in 1815–25; kit ¹ + -y ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of kitty¹

C18: see kit ³

Origin of kitty²

C19: see kit ¹

Example Sentences

He joked to the crowd that Trump's widely shared remark that immigrants were “eating the cats” was “the second time grabbing a kitty has been part of a campaign issue.”

From Salon

I wondered, if I threw a giant ball of yarn, would it chase it like a smaller kitty cat?

From Los Angeles Times

“The money is just for the holiday kitty,” says Jon Harvey of the £300 he was given every winter to help with heating bills.

From BBC

Labour's manifesto promised a kitty of £2.5bn to revitalise the UK steel industry.

From BBC

Rep SG with your chest, or rather, on your chest, with dangling little embellishments like a blinged-out strawberry or framed pensive kitty.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• kitten