cattle
Americannoun
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bovine animals, especially domesticated members of the genus Bos.
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Bible. such animals together with other domesticated quadrupeds, as horses, swine, etc.
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Disparaging. human beings, especially in a large, unruly crowd.
noun
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bovid mammals of the tribe Bovini (bovines), esp those of the genus Bos
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Also called: domestic cattle. any domesticated bovine mammals, esp those of the species Bos taurus (domestic ox)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cattle
1175–1225; Middle English catel < Old North French: (personal) property < Medieval Latin capitāle wealth; see capital 1
Explanation
Use the word cattle to talk about a group of cows. A farmer might build a new fence to keep her cattle more safely secured in their pasture. Cattle usually refers to domesticated cows, almost always a large group of them. If you have a small dairy farm with only three or four cows, you'll probably call them "cows." When you're talking about a bigger operation, they're more likely to be called cattle. In the 13th century, the word simply meant "property," from the Medieval Latin capitale, "property or stock." It took about 300 years before cattle meant "cows."
Vocabulary lists containing cattle
African History - Introductory
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"The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century," Vocabulary from Chapter 5
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African History - Middle School and High School
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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.
If there are no natural water sources, the toad relies on artificial water points normally used for cattle and irrigation.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
They were grandees of enormous estates where cattle mostly tended themselves until they were rounded up and sold for their hides, which came to be called “Yankee dollars.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
"We never had experienced that before 2020. Our homes are damaged, our cattle and our crops are affected, our livelihood is impacted and we can't even drink the water of our well anymore".
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
The cattle ranch with horses and acreage seemed to have provided the perfect place to social distance with her family.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Usually, there would be plenty of people along the way, in villages and cattle camps.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
