Cat

/kæt/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae.
  • Grammar: cat is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: computed tomography, feline, abyssinian cat, adamite.
  • Useful contrasts: MRI, airedale, airedales.
  • Usage evidence: I feed my cat every morning and every evening.

How to use "cat"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cat" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cat" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "cat" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "computed tomography" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "cat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae. countable

    "Mammals need two genes to make the taste receptor for sugar. Studies in various cats (tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats) showed that one of these genes has mutated and no longer works."

  2. 2
    A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to the standard output.
  3. 3
    A street name of the drug methcathinone. slang
  4. 4
    A piece of heavy machinery, such as a backhoe or bulldozer, of the Caterpillar brand. (Occasionally, loosely, any big yellow machine of the type.) slang

    "Upon touring the mine, they found it to be a veritable canyon with some monstrous Cats trundling in the background."

  5. 5
    A Catalina flying boat. informal
Show 51 more definitions
  1. 6
    Acronym of Central Atlas Tamazight. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    a method of examining body organs by scanning them with X rays and using a computer to construct a series of cross-sectional scans along a single axis wordnet
  3. 8
    Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae.; A carnivorous, four-legged, generally furry domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet. countable, uncountable

    "At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs."

  4. 9
    Abbreviation of catapult. abbreviation, alt-of

    "a carrier's bow cats"

  5. 10
    Acronym of computer-adaptive test. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    any of various lithe-bodied roundheaded fissiped mammals, many with retractile claws wordnet
  7. 12
    Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae.; A carnivorous, four-legged, generally furry domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.; The flesh of this animal eaten as food. uncountable

    "“[…]—Say, do you mind telling me if people around here really eat cats?” He felt a shiver in the pit of his stomach. “Do they eat cat?” said the little old man, profoundly shocked."

  8. 13
    Abbreviation of catalytic converter. abbreviation, alt-of
  9. 14
    Acronym of common admission test. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar wordnet
  11. 16
    Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae.; Any similar, chiefly non-domesticated, carnivorous mammal of the family Felidae, which includes bobcats, caracals, cheetahs, cougars, leopards, lions, lynxes, tigers, and other such species. countable, uncountable

    "I grabbed it and ran over to the lion from behind, the cat still chewing thoughtfully on Silent's arm."

  12. 17
    Abbreviation of catamaran. abbreviation, alt-of

    "These cats are a lot of fun in the harbor, but they're a real thrill on the open ocean riding ground swells."

  13. 18
    Acronym of civil air transport. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild wordnet
  15. 20
    Terms relating to animals.; Chiefly with a descriptive word: an animal not of the family Felidae which (somewhat) resembles a domestic feline (etymology 1 sense 1.1.1). broadly, countable

    "civet cat    polecat"

  16. 21
    Abbreviation of category. abbreviation, alt-of
  17. 22
    Acronym of clear-air turbulence. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  18. 23
    a large tracked vehicle that is propelled by two endless metal belts; frequently used for moving earth in construction and farm work wordnet
  19. 24
    Terms relating to people.; An angry or spiteful person, especially a woman. countable, derogatory, figuratively, offensive, uncountable

    "But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told, / He finds his prize — a cat — a slut — a scold."

  20. 25
    Abbreviation of catfish. abbreviation, alt-of

    "She missed the fish diet of her own country, and twice every summer she sent the boys to the river, twenty miles to the southward, to fish for channel cat."

  21. 26
    Acronym of computed axial tomography. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    a whip with nine knotted cords wordnet
  23. 28
    Terms relating to people.; An ordinary person, especially a man; a fellow, a guy. countable, dated, figuratively, slang, uncountable

    "Now you've listened to my story / Here's the point that I have made / Cats were born to give chicks fever / Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade"

  24. 29
    Abbreviation of caterpillar.; Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.) slang
  25. 30
    Acronym of career aptitude test. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  26. 31
    the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant wordnet
  27. 32
    Terms relating to people.; Synonym of itinerant worker. US, countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable
  28. 33
    Abbreviation of caterpillar.; A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.
  29. 34
    Acronym of computer-assisted/aided translation. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  30. 35
    a spiteful woman gossip wordnet
  31. 36
    Terms relating to people.; A jazz musician; also, an enthusiast of jazz music. countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable

    "a jazz cat"

  32. 37
    Abbreviation of computed axial tomography; often used attributively, as in “CAT scan” or “CT scan”. abbreviation, alt-of
  33. 38
    Acronym of credit authorization terminal. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  34. 39
    an informal term for a youth or man wordnet
  35. 40
    Terms relating to people.; Synonym of prostitute. countable, figuratively, obsolete, slang, uncountable

    ""Tell me. Willie said there was a cat in love with you. That isn't true, is it?" "Yes. It's true," Hudson corrects her, letting her think that by "cat" he means prostitute."

  36. 41
    Acronym of citizenship advancement training. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  37. 42
    Terms relating to things.; A double tripod for holding a plate, etc., with six feet, of which three rest on the ground in whatever position it is placed. broadly, countable, uncountable
  38. 43
    Acronym of computer-aided transceiver. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  39. 44
    Terms relating to things.; The game of trap ball; also (countable), the trap in that game. archaic, broadly, uncountable
  40. 45
    Acronym of cosmic anisotropy telescope. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  41. 46
    Terms relating to things.; The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat. archaic, broadly, countable
  42. 47
    Acronym of coital alignment technique. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  43. 48
    Terms relating to things.; A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship. broadly, countable, uncountable

    "Overhaul down & hook the cat, haul taut. Walk away the cat. When up, pass the cat head stopper. Hook the fish in & fish the anchor."

  44. 49
    Acronym of conidial anastomosis tube. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  45. 50
    Terms relating to things.; Ellipsis of cat-o'-nine-tails. abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

    "[H]e whipped a black man for disobedience of his orders fifty lashes; and again whipped him with a cat, which he wound with wire, about the same number of stripes;[…] he used this cat on one other man, and then destroyed the cat wound with wire."

  46. 51
    Acronym of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  47. 52
    Terms relating to things.; Now only in catboat: a sturdy merchant sailing vessel. archaic, broadly, countable, uncountable
  48. 53
    Acronym of crisis assessment team. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  49. 54
    Terms relating to things.; A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages to protect assailants approaching besieged enemy defences; a cathouse. broadly, countable, historical, uncountable

    "From behind the narrow slits in the walls of Castellar, crossbowmen and archers took aim at the juddering cat as it came closer."

  50. 55
    Acronym of Consumer Acceptance of Technology. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  51. 56
    Terms relating to things.; A vagina or vulva. broadly, countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar

    ""What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat.""

Verb
  1. 1
    To hoist (an anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead. transitive

    "The anchors were catted at the bows of the yacht […]"

  2. 2
    To apply the cat command to (one or more files). transitive
  3. 3
    eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth wordnet
  4. 4
    To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails. transitive
  5. 5
    To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully. slang
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    beat with a cat-o'-nine-tails wordnet
  2. 7
    To vomit. archaic, slang

    "‘He's going to cat, Maxim,’ said the Pussum warningly. The suave young Russian rose and took Halliday by the arm, leading him away."

  3. 8
    To go wandering at night.

    ""He doesn't realize that I know," Lord Callan said, "but it's been pretty obvious that most of his catting about London's darker alleys has been a search for his origins."

  4. 9
    To gossip in a catty manner.

    "Men from young to middleaged, with matt faces, vivacious and brightly dressed, catted together in gay groups."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous. Ireland, colloquial, not-comparable

    "The weather was cat, so they returned home early."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the female given names Catherine or Caitlin.
  2. 2
    Centre for Alternative Technology
  3. 3
    Counter Assault Team
  4. 4
    Citizens Area Transit
  5. 5
    Canadian Achievement Tests
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Cambridge Antibody Technology
  2. 7
    Abbreviation of Caterpillar Inc.. abbreviation, alt-of

    "Caterpillar (CAT)and Boston Consulting Group said their top executives would go but the companies are monitoring the situation closely."

Synonyms

All synonyms
computed tomographyfelineabyssinian catadamiteaerospaceaerosphere

Example

"I feed my cat every morning and every evening."

Common questions

What does "cat" mean?

Terms relating to animals.; A mammal of the family Felidae.

What is a synonym for "cat"?

Common synonyms include: computed tomography, feline, abyssinian cat, adamite, aerospace, aerosphere.

How do you use "cat" in a sentence?

I feed my cat every morning and every evening.

How do you pronounce "cat"?

Pronounced /kæt/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English cat, catte, from Old English catt (“male cat”), catte (“female cat”), from Proto-West Germanic *kattu, from Proto-Germanic *kattuz, generally thought to be from Late Latin cattus (“domestic cat”) (c. 350, Palladius), from Latin catta (c. 75 A.D., Martial), possibly from an Afroasiatic language. This would roughly match how domestic cats themselves spread, as genetic studies suggest they began to spread out of the Near East / Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic (being in Cyprus by 9500 years ago, and Greece and Italy by 2500 years ago), especially after they became popular in Egypt. However, every proposed source word has presented problems. Adolphe Pictet and many subsequent sources refer to Barabra (Nubian) [script needed] (kaddîska) and "Nouba" (Nobiin) ⲕⲁⲇⲓ̄ⲥ (kadīs, “kadīs”) as possible sources or cognates, but M. Lionel Bender says the Nubian word is a loan from Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa). Ibn Duraid dismissed Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa) as non-Arabic in origin, whereas the more "proper" term in Arabic is the now-rare Arabic سِنَّوْر (sinnawr). Jean-Paul Savignac suggests the Latin word is from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ (šau, “tomcat”) suffixed with feminine -t, but John Huehnergard says "the source … was clearly not Egyptian itself, where no analogous form is attested." It may be a wanderword. Kroonen says the word must have existed in Germanic from a very early date, as it shows morphological alternations, and suggests that it might have been borrowed from Uralic, compare Northern Sami gađfe (“female stoat”) and Hungarian hölgy (“stoat; lady, bride”) from Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”). Cognates Related to Scots cat (“cat”), North Frisian kaat, kaot, Kat, kåt (“cat”), Saterland Frisian Kat (“cat”), West Frisian kat (“cat”), Alemannic German Chats, Chatz, chatza, chatzu, chatzò, chàzzà, Kàtz (“cat”), Bavarian ckozza, Katz, khoze, kòtze (“cat”), Cimbrian katze, khatz, khatza (“cat”), Dutch kat (“cat”), German Katze (“cat”), German Low German Katt (“cat”), Luxembourgish Kaz (“cat”), Mòcheno kòtz (“cat”), Yiddish קאַץ (kats, “cat”), Danish kat (“cat”), Faroese køttur (“cat”), Icelandic köttur (“cat”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish katt (“cat”), Latin cattus, catus (“cat”), Aromanian cãtush (“cat”), French chat (“cat”), Occitan, Norman cat (“cat”), Portuguese, Spanish gato (“cat”), Breton kaz, kazh (“cat”), Cornish cath, kath (“cat”), Irish cat, cut (“cat”), Scottish Gaelic cat (“cat”), Welsh cath (“cat”), as well as Ancient Greek κάτα (káta), κάττα (kátta, “cat”), Greek γάτα (gáta, “cat”), Turkish kedi (“cat”), and from the same ultimate source Belarusian, Russian кот (kot, “cat”), Ukrainian кіт (kit, “cat”), Polish kot (“cat”), Kashubian kòt (“cat”), Latvian kaķis (“cat”), Lithuanian katė (“cat”), and more distantly Armenian կատու (katu, “cat”), Basque katu (“cat”), Georgian კატა (ḳaṭa, “cat”), Classical Syriac ܩܛܐ, ܩܛܘ (“cat”), Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa, “cat”) alongside dialectal Maghrebi Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs, “cat”) (from Berber, probably from Latin).

Etymology 2

From concatenate, derived from the program's function of concatenating files. Compare concat.

Etymology 3

Abbreviations.

Etymology 4

Abbreviation of Caterpillar (corporation and brand).

Etymology 5

Abbreviation of Catalina (flying boat).

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