Definition of "cat"

An animal of the family Felidae:  quotations

1. A domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • 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, […]

2. Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, bobcats, leopards, cougars, cheetahs, caracals, lynxes, and other such non-domesticated species.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • 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

   • She felt privileged to be here, living the experience inside the majestic cat [i.e. a tiger]; privileged to be part of their bond, even for only a few hours.

     2014, Dale Mayer, Rare Find. A Psychic Visions Novel, Valley Publishing

(uncountable) The meat of this animal, eaten as food.  quotations  examples

A person:

1. (offensive) A spiteful or angry woman.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

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

     1835 September, anonymous author, “The Pigs”, in The New-England Magazine, Vol. 9, 156

2. An enthusiast or player of jazz.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses

     2008, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (lyrics and music), “Hold on to Yourself”

3. (slang) A person (usually male).  quotations

   Quotations

   • 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

     1958, “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 said

     1972, “Starman”, in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, performed by David Bowie

   • BALDWIN: That's what we were talking about before. And by the way, you did not have to tell me that you think your father is a groovy cat; I knew that.

     1973 December, "Books Noted", discussing A Dialogue (by James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni), in Black World, Johnson Publishing Company, 77.

   • What fags are true I know what Mack's might doI'm quite familiar with cats like youProvoke to get me give me a good reason to smoke meTry to break me but never wrote me)

     1998, “Fiend”, in Respect, performed by Shaquille O'Neal

   • I started showing up early for every team practice, and when all those other cats jetted to hit the showers, I put in even more work on the court, eliminating my weaknesses, practicing drills and perfecting my outside shot.

     2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World/Ballantine Books, page 208

   • I am sick of rappers claiming they hot when they really notI am sick of rappers bragging about shit they ain’t really gotThese cats stay rapping about cars they don’t ownI am sick of rappers bragging about models they don’t bone.[…]And I am sick of all these cats with no talentThat never lived in the hood but yet their lyrics be so violent.

     2006, “Sick of it all”, in Masta Ace (lyrics), Pariah

4. (slang) A prostitute.  quotations

   Quotations

   • "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

(nautical) A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.  quotations  examples

(chiefly nautical) Short for cat-o'-nine-tails.  quotations  examples

(archaic) A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").

(archaic, uncountable) The game of trap ball.

1. (archaic, countable) The trap in that game.

(archaic) The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat.

(slang, vulgar, African-American Vernacular) A vagina, a vulva; the female external genitalia.  quotations

A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.) with six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.  examples

(historical) A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages as a siege weapon to allow assailants to approach enemy defences.  quotations

(nautical, transitive) To hoist (the anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.  quotations  examples

(nautical, transitive) To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.  examples

(slang) To vomit.

To go wandering at night.  quotations  examples

To gossip in a catty manner.  quotations  examples

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

(computing, transitive) To apply the cat command to (one or more files).  examples

(computing, slang) To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.

(slang) A street name of the drug methcathinone.

Abbreviation of catapult.  examples

Abbreviation of catalytic converter.  examples

Abbreviation of catamaran.  examples

Abbreviation of category.  examples

Abbreviation of catfish.  quotations  examples

Abbreviation of caterpillar.

1. (slang) Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)

2. A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.  examples

Abbreviation of computed axial tomography. Often used attributively, as in “CAT scan” or “CT scan”.  examples

(Ireland, colloquial) Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous.  examples