cat

noun29

1. •
   a small animal with soft hair and a long tail, often kept in homes, from the same family as lions

   • A group of wild cats is called a destruction. — 2019
2. •
   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
3. •
   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
4. •
   (slang, figurative) 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 Centigrade — 1958
5. •
   (slang, figurative) A jazz musician; also, an enthusiast of jazz music.

   • I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses — 2008
6. •
   Abbreviation of computed axial tomography; often used attributively, as in “CAT scan” or “CT scan”.
7. •
   (offensive, figurative) 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
8. •
   A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to the standard output.
9. •
   A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.
10. •
    (slang) Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)
11. •
    Chiefly with a descriptive word: an animal not of the family Felidae which (somewhat) resembles a domestic feline.
12. •
    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
13. •
    (slang, vulgar) A vagina or vulva.

    • "What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat." — 1969
14. •
    Abbreviation of catamaran.

    • These cats are a lot of fun in the harbor, but they're a real thrill on the open ocean riding ground swells. — 1966
15. •
    Abbreviation of catfish.

    • 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. — 1913
16. •
    Abbreviation of catalytic converter.
17. •
    Abbreviation of category.
18. •
    Ellipsis of cat-o'-nine-tails.
19. •
    Abbreviation of catapult.

    • a carrier's bow cats
20. •
    (slang) A street name of the drug methcathinone.
21. •
    Abbreviation of caterpillar.
22. •
    A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.

    • 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. — 2009
23. •
    (historical) A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages to protect assailants approaching besieged enemy defences; a cathouse.

    • From behind the narrow slits in the walls of Castellar, crossbowmen and archers took aim at the juddering cat as it came closer. — 2000
24. •
    (slang, figurative) Synonym of itinerant worker.
25. •
    A double tripod for holding a plate, etc., with six feet, of which three rest on the ground in whatever position it is placed.
26. •
    (figurative, no longer used) 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
27. •
    (no longer used) Now only in catboat: a sturdy merchant sailing vessel.
28. •
    (no longer used) The game of trap ball; also (countable), the trap in that game.
29. •
    (no longer used) The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat.

verb7

1. •
   To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
2. •
   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
3. •
   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
4. •
   To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
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
6. •
   (slang) To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.
7. •
   (slang, no longer used) 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

adjective1

1. •
   (Ireland, informal) Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous.

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

noun17

1. •
   Acronym of computed axial tomography.
2. •
   Acronym of computer-adaptive test.
3. •
   Acronym of computer-assisted/aided translation.
4. •
   Acronym of clear-air turbulence.
5. •
   Acronym of common admission test.
6. •
   Acronym of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.
7. •
   Acronym of career aptitude test.
8. •
   Acronym of Central Atlas Tamazight.
9. •
   Acronym of Consumer Acceptance of Technology.
10. •
    Acronym of credit authorization terminal.
11. •
    Acronym of crisis assessment team.
12. •
    Acronym of civil air transport.
13. •
    Acronym of coital alignment technique.
14. •
    Acronym of citizenship advancement training.
15. •
    Acronym of computer-aided transceiver.
16. •
    Acronym of cosmic anisotropy telescope.
17. •
    Acronym of conidial anastomosis tube.

noun2

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.
2. •
   (informal) A Catalina flying boat.