cattail
Americannoun
-
cattails
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cattail
First recorded in 1425–75, cattail is from the late Middle English word cattestail. See cat, tail 1
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.
See Examples For:
Green cattail thickets line the shallow blue pool where the river backs up against the dam, a 31-foot-high concrete wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2023
The shrub-steppe gives way to cattail and lily-covered marshes, where birds flit.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2022
The moment of seeing this belted kingfisher on the tip of a cattail, doing its call, swooping across the creek—and being so present in that moment—made me realize that I can actually enjoy my job.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 5, 2020
Even a privacy half-wall flanking the bathroom toilet is art of the land, a flowing colorful piece that Walch made from willow, mud, cattail fiber and flaxseed.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 25, 2017
The cattail rush basket in which we store the hickory nuts is almost empty.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
It was close to sunset when I took my shoes off and waded deep past the bank of reeds and cattails.
From Salon ● May 11, 2024
The resulting structure, which uses filtered river water, resembles a series of towering metal cattails.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
Inundating the land, and allowing the ancient bulrushes and cattails to return—or potentially cultivating rice—would stop those emissions immediately, and even store carbon as new plants grow.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 7, 2022
It will use plants such as cattails to suck up about 35 metric tons of phosphorus every year before the water makes its way into the St. Lucie River.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2021
They came to marshlands, tall grasses and cattails, shadowy in the gray afternoon.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
