cat

Noun (1)

cat (countable and uncountable, plural cats)

1. (countable) A mammal of the family Felidae.
   • 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.2011, Karl Kruszelnicki, Brain Food, →ISBN, page 53

   Synonyms:

   felid, feline, panther[Panthera, pantherine[Pantherinae

2. A carnivorous, four-legged, generally furry domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.
   • 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.1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC
   • A major genetic survey of nearly 1,000 feral and domestic cats has revealed that every breed of household cat alive today originates from just five lineages which lived alongside ancient settlers in the Fertile Crescent, an area stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.2007 June 29, Ian Sample, “DNA research identifies homeland of the domestic cat”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2020

   Synonyms:

   felid, feline, panther[Panthera, pantherine[Pantherinae, grimalkin, kitty, kitty-cat, puss, pussy, pussy-cat

3. (uncountable) The flesh of this animal eaten as food.
   • “[…]—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.1948, Harry Stephen Keeler, The Case of the Jeweled Ragpicker (The Screwball Circus Mysteries; 3), Wildside Press, published 2017, →ISBN
   • You do not eat cat simply for the thrill of eating cat. You eat cat because cats have a lively jingshen, or spirit, and thus by eating the animal you will improve your spirits.2013, Peter Hessler, Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West, Harper Perennial, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   felid, feline, panther[Panthera, pantherine[Pantherinae, grimalkin, kitty, kitty-cat, puss, pussy, pussy-cat

4. 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.
   • I grabbed it and ran over to the lion from behind, the cat still chewing thoughtfully on Silent's arm.1977, Peter Hathaway Capstick, Death in the Long Grass: A Big Game Hunter's Adventures in the African Bush, St. Martin's Press, page 44
   • If you should someday round a corner on the hiking trail and come face to face with a mountain lion, you would probably never forget the mighty cat.1985 January, George Laycock, “Our American Lion”, in Boys' Life, Boy Scouts of America, section 28

   Synonyms:

   felid, feline, panther[Panthera, pantherine[Pantherinae

5. (broadly, countable) Chiefly with a descriptive word: an animal not of the family Felidae which (somewhat) resembles a domestic feline (etymology 1, noun sense 1.1.1).
   • civet cat polecat
6. (derogatory, figuratively, offensive) An angry or spiteful person, especially a woman.
   • But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told, / He finds his prize — a cat — a slut — a scold.1835 September, “The Pigs”, in The New-England Magazine, volume IX, page 156

   Synonyms:

   bitch, tabby

7. (dated, figuratively, slang) An ordinary person, especially a man; a fellow, a guy.
   • 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 Centigrade1958, “Fever”, Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell, Peggy Lee (lyrics), performed by Peggy Lee
   • Didn't know what time it was the lights were low / I leaned back on my radio / Some cat was layin' down some rock'n'roll 'lotta soul, he said1972, “Starman”, in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, performed by David Bowie

   Synonyms:

   bloke, chap, cove, dude, fella, joe, boy, bro, broski, bruh

8. (US, figuratively, slang) Synonym of itinerant worker.

   Synonyms:

   itinerant worker

9. (figuratively, slang, jazz) A jazz musician; also, an enthusiast of jazz music.
   • a jazz cat
   • I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses2008, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Hold on to Yourself”

   Synonyms:

   hepcat

10. (figuratively, obsolete, slang) Synonym of prostitute.
    • "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.1999, Carl P. Eby, Hemingway’s Fetishism: Psychoanalysis and the Mirror of Manhood, State University of New York Press, page 124

    Synonyms:

    prostitute

11. (broadly) A double tripod for holding a plate, etc., with six feet, of which three rest on the ground in whatever position it is placed.
12. (archaic, broadly, uncountable) The game of trap ball; also (countable), the trap in that game.

Verb (1)

cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)

1. (transitive) To hoist (an anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.
   • The anchors were catted at the bows of the yacht […]1922, Francis Lynde, Pirates’ Hope, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 226

   Synonyms:

   cathead

2. (transitive) To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
3. (archaic, slang) To vomit.
   • ‘He's going to cat, Maxim,’ said the Pussum warningly. The suave young Russian rose and took Halliday by the arm, leading him away.1921, DH Lawrence, Women in Love, Vintage, published 2008, page 65
4. 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.1998, Mary Spencer, Lady’s Wager, page 324
   • This was going to be my first try at catting out. I went looking for somebody to cat with me.2010, Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land, page 18
5. To gossip in a catty manner.
   • Men from young to middleaged, with matt faces, vivacious and brightly dressed, catted together in gay groups.1932, Hugh Brooke, Man Made Angry, page 134
   • They smiled, touched, rolled their eyes and raised their eyebrows, as they relived the audition and catted about some of their competition.1996, Alistair Boyle, The Unlucky Seven

Noun (2)

cat (plural cats)

1. A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to the standard output.

Verb (2)

cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)

1. (transitive) To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
2. (slang) To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.

Noun (3)

cat (plural cats)

1. (slang) A street name of the drug methcathinone.
2. (slang) Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)
3. A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.

Adjective

cat (not comparable)

1. (Ireland, colloquial) Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous.
   • The weather was cat, so they returned home early.

Noun (4) capitalized: CAT

CAT (countable and uncountable, plural CATs)

1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of Central Atlas Tamazight.
2. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of computer-adaptive test.
3. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of common admission test.
4. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of civil air transport.
5. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of clear-air turbulence.
6. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of computed axial tomography.

   Synonyms:

   CT, computed tomography, computed axial tomography

7. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of career aptitude test.
8. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of computer-assisted/aided translation.
9. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of credit authorization terminal.
10. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of citizenship advancement training.
11. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of computer-aided transceiver.
12. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of cosmic anisotropy telescope.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: CAT

CAT

1. Centre for Alternative Technology
2. Counter Assault Team
3. Citizens Area Transit
4. Canadian Achievement Tests
5. Cambridge Antibody Technology
6. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of Caterpillar Inc..
   • Caterpillar (CAT)and Boston Consulting Group said their top executives would go but the companies are monitoring the situation closely.2014 May 2, Mark Thompson and Aaron Smith, “U.S. presses CEOs to skip Russia’s Davos”, in CNN Business

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Cat

IPA/kæt/

Cat (plural Cats)

1. A diminutive of the female given names Catherine and Caitlin.

Noun (5) capitalized: Cat

IPA/kæt/

Cat (plural Cats)

1. (slang) A piece of heavy machinery, such as a backhoe or bulldozer, of the Caterpillar brand. (Occasionally, loosely, any big yellow machine of the type.)
   • Upon touring the mine, they found it to be a veritable canyon with some monstrous Cats trundling in the background.

Noun (6) capitalized: Cat

IPA/kæt/

Cat (plural Cats)

1. (informal) A Catalina flying boat.