Cato

American  

[key-toh] / ˈkeɪ toʊ /

noun

1. Marcus Porcius the Elderorthe Censor, 234–149 b.c., Roman statesman, soldier, and writer.

2. his great-grandson Marcus Porcius the Younger, 95–46 b.c., Roman statesman, soldier, and Stoic philosopher.

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Cato British  

/ ˈkeɪtəʊ /

noun

1. Marcus Porcius (ˈmɑːkəsˈpɔːʃɪəs), known as Cato the Elder or the Censor. 234–149 _bc , Roman statesman and writer, noted for his relentless opposition to Carthage

2. his great-grandson, Marcus Porcius, known as Cato the Younger or Uticensis. 95–46 _bc , Roman statesman, general, and Stoic philosopher; opponent of Catiline and Caesar

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Cato Cultural  

1. A politician of ancient Rome, known for his insistence that Carthage was Rome's permanent enemy. He had a custom of ending all his speeches in the Roman senate with the words “Carthage must be destroyed.”

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Example Sentences

Mr. Packard is a trade policy fellow and Mr. Lincicome is Vice President for Economics and Trade at the Cato Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

“The best thing you can say about them is that they weren’t as harmful people thought they would be,” said Scott Lincicome, the vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Typically, Medicare costs increase at a higher rate than Social Security benefits, which shrinks the value of beneficiaries’ checks, said Michael Cannon, director of health-policy studies at the Cato Institute.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

About the author: Adam Michel is the director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and author of the Liberty Taxed External link Substack.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

Just in time, too, because Cato is upon us.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins