kitten
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a young cat
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US equivalent: have a cow. informal to react with disapproval, anxiety, etc
she had kittens when she got the bill
verb
Other Word Forms
- kitten-like adjective
- kittenlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of kitten
1350–1400; Middle English kitoun, apparently blend of kiteling kitling and Middle French chitoun, variant of chaton kitten
Explanation
A kitten is a baby cat. There is nothing more adorable then a bunch of fuzzy little kittens playing together. While there are a few other animals whose young are called kittens, like beavers, rabbits, and rats, the word most commonly describes a baby cat. Kittens are dependent on their mothers for food and protection until they are around six to eight weeks old, when they're still adorable but also able to eat solid food. Kitten comes from the Middle English kitoun, which is rooted in the Old French chitoun, or "little cat."
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.
Outside The Times’ office, with highway and airplane traffic buzzing by on a cloudless afternoon, Slayyyter walked into our interview in Moschino kitten heels and her now-signature fringe jacket.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
When we arrived back in Serbia with no further travel plans for the first time in a decade, I found an abandoned kitten under a pile of firewood in our shed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
"The Gardener’s Cat" features Louis, a hypersensitive gardener devastated by the impending loss of his kitten, which has a tumour.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
Mrs Wills said losing the kitten, which had been hand-reared by the family from four-weeks-old, was "heartbreaking".
From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025
Unremarkables who saw us together thought I was playing with a kitten.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
