cool cat
Americannoun
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a fashionable or hip person.
Being the cool cat that I was in high school, I would often stop in at the vegan store for coffee on the way home.
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a person who is easygoing, casual, and calm.
He was the most laid-back cool cat I ever met—he took everything in stride.
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an admirable or excellent person.
An ACLU lawyer, drug reformer, and generally cool cat, she is seriously considering a bid for mayor.
Etymology
Origin of cool cat
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
"Brilliant, son. He's a cool cat this kid, I tell you," ex-Ibrox winger and coach Neil McCann said on Premier Sports.
From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025
The very idea of “Cool Cat” may bring to mind another fabulous Hollywood cool cat, the Pink Panther.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2023
"I needed to know this was going somewhere if I was going to give up this really cool cat," she said.
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2023
The owner says he sought out servers who “love hosting,” a detail repeatedly demonstrated during my visit by a cool cat named Cosmo.
From Washington Post • Jul. 15, 2022
But Father played the cool cat, not admitting what a miserable failure he had been so far at the Christianizing trade.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
