catnip
/ˈkætnɪp/
catnip noun: any of the about 250 species of flowering plant of the genus Nepeta, family Lamiaceae, certain of which are said to have medicinal qualities.
Noun
catnip (countable and uncountable, plural catnips)
- Any of the about 250 species of flowering plant of the genus Nepeta, family Lamiaceae, certain of which are said to have medicinal qualities.
- Heavy mulching should help with winter survival of hardy, fragrant leaved perennials like lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), catnip (Nepeta mussini), sage (Salvia officinalis), mint, oregano (Origanum vulgare) and thyme (Thymus species).1991 August 4, Linda Yang, “Garden Q. & A.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 May 2015
- Nepeta cataria and Nepeta grandiflora (and perhaps other species), which are well-known for causing an apparently harmless pheromone-based intoxication among certain cats.
- Some cats go bonkers over catnip; others ignore it.
- But exactly how catnip—and a substitute, known as silver vine—produce this feline high has long been a mystery. Now, a study suggests the key intoxicating chemicals in the plants activate cats’ opioid systems much like heroin and morphine do in people.2021 January 20, Sofia Moutinho, “Why cats are crazy for catnip”, in Science, Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on...
- Something that causes excitement or interest.
- Near-synonym: crack
- Their outrage was catnip to the trolls who had deepfaked the video.
- Synonyms:
- crack
catnip meaning in Arabic, Persian and Vietnamese
catnip in Arabic
- plant of the genus Nepeta
- قَطْرَمْ qaṭram
catnip in Persian
- plant of the genus Nepeta
- پونهسا
- specific species which causes intoxication among cats
- نعناع گربهای
catnip in Vietnamese
- specific species which causes intoxication among cats
- bạc hà mèo, cỏ mèo
Examples of catnip in a sentence
- The language [OCaml]’s rigor is like catnip to some people, though, giving Jane Street an unusual advantage in the tight hiring market for programmers.2015 April 2, James Somers, “Toolkits for the Mind”, in MIT Technology Review, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Technology Review, →OCLC, archived...
- Unlike IPOs, however, ICOs are catnip for scammers.2017 May 31, David Z. Morris, “The Rise of Cryptocurrency Ponzi Schemes”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The...
- This hot new Shoreditch trattoria already is catnip for the style set.2019 September 14, Elizabeth Paton, “A Fashion/Food Blowout in the Shadow of Brexit”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York...
- While some might see xAI’s new anime avatars as a harmless experiment, they’re emotional catnip for vulnerable users.2025 July 16, Marcus Mendes, “Grok may be breaking App Store rules with sexualized AI chatbots, and that’s not the only problem”, in...
Synonyms of catnip
Forms of catnip
| plural | catnips |
|---|---|
| alternative form | cat nip |
| alternative form | cat-nip |
Origin of catnip
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.
Words formed from catnip
Questions about catnip
- What does catnip mean?
- Catnip means any of the about 250 species of flowering plant of the genus Nepeta, family Lamiaceae, certain of which are said to have medicinal qualities.
- What is catnip in Arabic?
- Catnip in Arabic is قَطْرَمْ (qaṭram). See Catnip meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use catnip in a sentence?
- The language [OCaml]’s rigor is like catnip to some people, though, giving Jane Street an unusual advantage in the tight hiring market for programmers.
- What part of speech is catnip?
- Catnip is a noun.
- How do you pronounce catnip?
- Catnip is pronounced /ˈkætnɪp/.
- What is the plural of catnip?
- The plural of catnip is catnips.
Words near catnip in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: catnip (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-catnip.wav.
Cite this entry: “catnip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/catnip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.