Catnip
//ˈkætnɪp// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of the about 250 species of flowering plant of the genus Nepeta, family Lamiaceae, certain of which are said to have medicinal qualities. countable, uncountable
- 2 hairy aromatic perennial herb having whorls of small white purple-spotted flowers in a terminal spike; used in the past as a domestic remedy; strongly attractive to cats wordnet
- 3 Nepeta cataria and Nepeta grandiflora (and perhaps other species), which are well-known for causing an apparently harmless pheromone-based intoxication among certain cats. countable, uncountable
"Some cats go bonkers over catnip; others ignore it."
- 4 Something that causes excitement or interest. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"The language’s^([OCaml's]) rigor is like catnip to some people, though, giving Jane Street an unusual advantage in the tight hiring market for programmers."
Example
More examples"Why does catnip make cats loopy?"
Etymology
Compound of cat + nep, nip (“catnip”), from Middle English nep, from Old English nepte, from Proto-West Germanic *nepetā, from Latin nepeta (“catnip”). Compare earlier catmint (“catnip”), from Middle English catt mynte, which very likely existed in Old English (as *cattes minte) as well.
More for "catnip"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.