cat
noun
cat
1 American
[kat]
/ kæt /
noun
-
cats
plural
-
a small domesticated carnivore, Felis domestica or F. catus, bred in a number of varieties.
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any of several carnivores of the family Felidae, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, etc.
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Older Slang.
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a person, especially a man.
I'll admit that I'm not the hippest cat in town but even I know that show.
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a devotee of jazz.
That cat's got a great ear, but he can't sing or play himself.
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a woman given to spiteful or malicious gossip.
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Games.
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Chiefly British. the game of tipcat, or the tapering piece of wood used in the game.
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a catboat.
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a catamaran.
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a catfish.
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Obsolete. the fur of the domestic cat.
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Nautical. a tackle used in hoisting an anchor to the cathead, a projecting timber or metal beam where the anchor is secured.
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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.
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Navy Informal. catapult.
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(in medieval warfare) a movable shelter for providing protection when approaching a fortification.
verb (used with object)
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cats,
present (3rd person singular)
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catted,
past participle, past
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catting
present participle
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to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
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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)
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cats,
present (3rd person singular)
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catted,
past participle, past
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catting
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
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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.
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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.
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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.
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rain cats and dogs. rain.
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curiosity killed the cat. curiosity.
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cat got your tongue?, (used to ask why someone is not speaking).
You've been awfully quiet—cat got your tongue?
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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.
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look what the cat dragged in, (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!
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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.
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fight like cats and dogs. fight.
Cat
2
American
[kat]
/ kæt /
Trademark.
CAT
3
American
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clear-air turbulence.
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Medicine/Medical. computerized axial tomography.
cat.
4
American
abbreviation
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catalog; catalogue.
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catechism.
cat
1
British
/ kæt /
noun
-
Also called: domestic 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
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Also called: big cat. any of the larger felines, such as a lion or tiger
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any wild feline mammal of the genus Felis, such as the lynx or serval, resembling the domestic cat
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old-fashioned a woman who gossips maliciously
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slang a man; guy
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nautical a heavy tackle for hoisting an anchor to the cathead
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a short sharp-ended piece of wood used in the game of tipcat
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short for catboat
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informal short for Caterpillar
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short for cat-o'-nine-tails
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informal a bad-tempered person
she's a real bag of cats this morning
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to fight until both parties are destroyed
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to disclose a secret, often by mistake
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in an uneasy or agitated state
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quarrelling savagely
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to appear dishevelled or bedraggled
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no chance at all
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to have very little space
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to play with a person or animal in a cruel or teasing way, esp before a final act of cruelty or unkindness
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to introduce some violently disturbing new element
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to rain very heavily
verb
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(tr) to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails
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(tr) nautical to hoist (an anchor) to the cathead
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(intr) a slang word for vomit
cat
2
British
/ kæt /
noun
adjective
CAT
3
British
abbreviation
-
computer-aided teaching
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computer-assisted trading
cat.
4
British
abbreviation
-
catalogue
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catamaran
cat
5
British
/ kæt /
noun
cat
More Idioms
Usage
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?"
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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catsimple
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catssimple
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have cattedperfect
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has cattedperfect
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am cattingprogressive
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are cattingprogressive
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is cattingprogressive
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have been cattingperfect progressive
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has been cattingperfect progressive
Past
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cattedsimple
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had cattedperfect
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was cattingprogressive
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were cattingprogressive
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had been cattingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cat
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
Explanation
What's another name for the four-legged feline that lies around on your keyboard all day and purrs? You might call it “Fluffy,” but it’s also known as a cat. If you’re in the market for a pet cat, just make sure it meows, and doesn’t roar like the lion, tiger, or jaguar, all of which are in the same family as the housecat. Domesticated as long ago as ancient Egyptian times, the cat is a fixture not only in many homes, but also in a host of English expressions — like, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play,” “it’s raining cats and dogs,” and “the cat’s pajamas.”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At least until Hans Zimmer’s music hits one of its glorious crescendos, at which point the cat will leap off the couch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
"So, get out we did with the cat and away to go to our son's house."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Still, collisions involving Waymo vehicles have garnered public attention and criticism, including when a Waymo struck and killed a beloved neighborhood cat in San Francisco last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
"It's an indescribable moment," the 56-year-old lawyer told AFP, planting a kiss on her cat Polux's head after rescuers pulled the animal from the detritus of its owner's apartment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
In the next to last cage crouched an enormous orange-and-white cat with tattered ears and a swollen eye.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Appeared in the August 19, 2026, print edition as 'In ‘Lion,’ a Big Cat Comes of Age'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
"We don't believe that somebody who is willing to do that deserves release," Cat added.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Losing not just one parent, but two, was "traumatic" for Cat and her three younger siblings, leaving them "so bewildered" by what had happened, she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
That said, while he is proud the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed in the aftermath of “Tiger King” and believes people should be banned from raising chimps at home, he views reptiles differently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Was it possible that Klawde was not a Kind Alien Warlord Cat?
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
GE Vernova GEV 2.12%increase; up pointing triangle and Caterpillar CAT 0.69%increase; up pointing triangle have gained 55% and 47%, respectively.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
CAT attracted ffin because it "struck me as a place where you could do very hands-on biology and work on off-grid systems, and also have an education component and a visitor centre".
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Yates was hospitalized multiple times and underwent CAT scans and MRIs, her husband said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
He ordered a barrage of tests — according to Partridge she had two MRIs, two EEGs, a SPECT, a CAT scan and a spinal tap, as well as more than a dozen different antibody tests.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
I have just learned that in many small and some medium-size hospitals in the US, radiologists are outsourcing reading of CAT scans to doctors in India and Australia!!!
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
"It's not going to happen in every cat. Some kittens are going to grow up just fine," she said.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
“If you’re curious about it, be a curious cat. Go find out. There’s a lot of ways to get into this industry. There is always going to be work.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2024
"But now he's actually a really placid cat. He loves being stroked and played with."
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
“He would move around the room like a cat. He knew those sculptures better than he knew his family.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
“All of a sudden,” Mr. Perry said, “there was a cat. So I lathered the cat by mistake. Missed my customer and lathered the cat.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
"Points to consider include how do you define a pet - does the policy just cover cats and dogs or would hamsters, rabbits, goldfish, horses, snakes, or other animals be included?"
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Another Cali resident and animal lover, Andrea Paredes, has not given up hope on reuniting with her dog and cats.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Giraldo had lived with two dogs and two cats in a building that now slants dangerously to one side.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
“I think cats are like works of art that inspire you to be truer to yourself,” Meyer says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
That was unfortunate, since at that moment three more cats came running into the room.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Last week, he was catted by the Association of German Friends of Cats, and by Herr Victor Fraenkl, chairman of the German League for Animal Rights, one of the Association's principal spokesmen.
From Time Magazine Archive
With the Proserpine it was different Her capstan-bars flew round, and one anchor was actually catted by the time her captain appeared on deck.
From The Wing-and-Wing Le Feu-Follet by James Fenimore Cooper
Still another kind of chimney was the "catted" chimney, made of "cats" or rolled-up strips of clay mixed with straw, and placed closely together within a framework of wooden posts and rails.
From Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century by Henry Chandlee Forman
"Ay, he's catted his anchor, sure enough; if the figure be not Hope, it must be Faith, or Charity."
From The Two Admirals by James Fenimore Cooper
A strong hook which is a continuation of the iron strop of the cat-block, used to hook the ring of the anchor when it is to be drawn up or catted.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher
He was a Viet Nam Vet who had been "catting" on the city streets for years.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2016
The lads up front have got their sprint on at the top and after some catting and mousing they finish the San Mauro Cilento in the following order: Wauters, Boaro and Taborre.
From The Guardian ● May 6, 2013
We’ve been laying our voices down, catting and scatting, and following variations of the same notes for so long we didn’t always know we were doing it.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
“Have you got any of it yourself?” asked the patient, catting him short.
From The Fire Trumpet A Romance of the Cape Frontier by Bertram Mitford
The order to walk along briskly with a tackle fall, as catting the anchor, &c.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
