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.
Wearing jeans and an Arsenal football shirt, she takes us for a walk to see her many animals, including chickens, cattle and goats.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The leading causes of cattle death are respiratory illness, digestive problems, calving complications and weather—not wolves.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
That’s bad news for his company, Clovergrass Produce, and its crop of soybeans, cucumbers, peanuts and corn plus his herd of beef cattle.
From Salon • May 15, 2026
Beef is up double-digits because the U.S. cattle herd hit a historic low.
From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026
The British soldiers fed corn to their horses and took meat, cattle, sheep, and hogs.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
