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Cat

 - 22 dictionary results
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cat

  [kat] noun, verb, cat⋅ted, cat⋅ting.
Use Cat in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small domesticated carnivore, Felis domestica or F. catus, bred in a number of varieties.
2. any of several carnivores of the family Felidae, as the lion, tiger, leopard or jaguar, etc.
3. Slang.
a. a person, esp. a man.
b. a devotee of jazz.
4. a woman given to spiteful or malicious gossip.
5. the fur of the domestic cat.
6. a cat-o'-nine-tails.
7. Games.
a. Chiefly British. the tapering piece of wood used in the game of tipcat.
b. Chiefly British. the game itself.
c. four old cat, one old cat, three old cat, two old cat.
8. a catboat.
9. a catamaran.
10. a catfish.
11. Nautical. a tackle used in hoisting an anchor to the cathead.
12. a double tripod having six legs but resting on only three no matter how it is set down, usually used before or over a fire.
13. Navy Informal. catapult (def. 2).
14. (in medieval warfare) a movable shelter for providing protection when approaching a fortification.
–verb (used with object)
15. to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
16. Nautical. to hoist (an anchor) and secure to a cathead.
–verb (used without object)
17. British Slang. to vomit.
—Verb phrase
18. cat around, Slang.
a. to spend one's time aimlessly or idly.
b. to seek sexual activity indiscriminately; tomcat.
—Idioms
19. bell the cat, to attempt something formidable or dangerous.
20. let the cat out of the bag, to divulge a secret, esp. inadvertently or carelessly: He let the cat out of the bag, and the surprise party wasn't a surprise after all.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME cat, catte, OE catt (masc.), catte (fem.); c. OFris, MD katte, OHG kazza, ON kǫttr, Ir cat, Welsh cath (Slavic *kotŭ, Lith katė̃ perh. < Gmc), LL cattus, catta (first attested in the 4th century, presumably with the introduction of domestic cats); ult. orig. obscure
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Cat

  [kat]
Trademark. a Caterpillar tractor.

CAT

 
1. clear-air turbulence.
2. Medicine/Medical. computerized axial tomography.
Compare CAT scanner.

cat.

 
1. catalog; catalogue.
2. catechism.

cata-

 
a prefix meaning “down,” “against,” “back,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (cataclysm; catalog; catalepsy); on this model, used in the formation of other compound words (catagenesis; cataphyll).
Also, cat-, cath-, kata-.

Origin:
< Gk kata-, comb. form of katá down, through, against, according to, towards, during
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Cat
cat   (kāt)   
n.  

    1. A small carnivorous mammal (Felis catus or F. domesticus) domesticated since early times as a catcher of rats and mice and as a pet and existing in several distinctive breeds and varieties.

    2. Any of various other carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, which includes the lion, tiger, leopard, and lynx.

    3. The fur of a domestic cat.

    4. A person, especially a man.

    5. A player or devotee of jazz music.

    6. A cathead.

    7. A device for raising an anchor to the cathead.

    8. A catboat.

    9. A catamaran.

  2. Informal A woman who is regarded as spiteful.

  3. Slang

    1. A person, especially a man.

    2. A player or devotee of jazz music.

    3. A cathead.

    4. A device for raising an anchor to the cathead.

    5. A catboat.

    6. A catamaran.

  4. A cat-o'-nine-tails.

  5. A catfish.

  6. Nautical

    1. A cathead.

    2. A device for raising an anchor to the cathead.

    3. A catboat.

    4. A catamaran.

v.   cat·ted, cat·ting, cats

v.   tr. Nautical
To hoist an anchor to (the cathead).
v.   intr. Slang
To look for sexual partners; have an affair or affairs: "catting around with every lady in sight" (Gore Vidal).

[Middle English, from Old English catt, from Germanic *kattuz. Sense 6d, short for catamaran.]
CAT  
abbr.  

  1. clear-air turbulence

  2. computerized axial tomography

clear-air turbulence   (klîr'âr')
n.   Abbr. CAT
Atmospheric turbulence that occurs under tranquil and cloudless conditions and subjects aircraft to strong updrafts and downdrafts.
com·put·er·ized axial tomography   (kəm-pyōō'tə-rīzd')   
n.   Abbr. CAT
Tomography in which computer analysis of a series of cross-sectional scans made along a single axis of a bodily structure or tissue is used to construct a three-dimensional image of that structure. The technique is used in diagnostic studies of internal bodily structures, as in the detection of tumors or brain aneurysms.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
cat

  1. n.
    a fellow; a guy; a dude. : Now, this cat wants to borrow some money from me. What should I do?
  2. in.
    to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : Looks like somebody catted in the bushes.
  3. n.
    a gossipy woman. : Mary can be such a cat, you know.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

cat 
O.E. (c.700), from W.Gmc. (c.400-450), from P.Gmc. *kattuz, from L.L. cattus. The near-universal European word now, it appeared in Europe as L. catta (Martial, c.75 C.E.), Byzantine Gk. katta (c.350) and was in general use on the continent by c. 700, replacing L. feles. Probably ult. Afro-Asiatic (cf. Nubian kadis, Berber kadiska, both meaning "cat"). Ar. qitt "tomcat" may be from the same source. Cats were domestic in Egypt from c.2000 B.C.E., but not a familiar household animal to classical Greeks and Romans. The nine lives have been proverbial since at least c.1562. Extended to lions, tigers, etc. 1607. As a term of contempt for a woman, from c.1225. Slang sense of "prostitute" is from at least 1401. Slang sense of "fellow, guy," is from 1920, originally in U.S. Black Eng.; narrower sense of "jazz enthusiast" is recorded from 1931. Catcall first recorded 1659; catnap is from 1823; catfish is from 1620; catwalk is from 1917. Cat's-cradle is from 1768. Cat-o'-nine-tails (1695), probably so called in reference to its "claws," was legal instrument of punishment in British Navy until 1881. Cat's paw (1769, but cat's foot in the same sense, 1597) refers to old folk tale in which the monkey tricks the cat into pawing chestnuts from a fire; the monkey gets the nuts, the cat gets a burnt paw. To rain cats and dogs (c.1652) is probably an extension of cats and dogs as proverbial for "strife, enmity" (1579). Cat-witted "small-minded, obstinate, and spiteful" (1673) deserved to survive. For Cat's meow, cat's pajamas, see bee's knees.

CAT 
1975, medical acronym for computerized axial tomography.

cata- 
from Gk. kata-, before vowels kat-. Its principal sense is "down," but with occasional senses of "against" or "wrongly." Also sometimes used as an intensive. Most Eng. words with this prefix were borrowed through L. after 1500; e.g. catalectic (1589) "wanting a syllable in the last foot."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cat
Pronunciation: 'kat
Function: noun
often attributive 1 : a carnivorous mammal (Felis catus) long domesticated and keptas a pet or for catching rats and mice
2 : any of a family (Felidae) of mammals including the domestic cat, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cougar, wildcat, lynx, and cheetah

Main Entry: CAT
Function: abbreviation
computed axial tomography; computerized axial tomography
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

CAT abbr.
computerized axial tomography

cata- pref.

  1. Down: catabolism.

  2. Reverse; backward; degenerative: cataplasia.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

CAT
Common Abstract Tree Language. R. Voeller & Uwe Schmidt, U Kiel, Germany 1983. Universal intermediate language, used by Norsk Data in their family of compilers. "A Multi-Language Compiler System with Automatically Generated Codegenerators, U. Schmidt et al, SIGPLAN Notices 19(6):202-2121 (June 1984).
[The Jargon File]

cat tool
(From "catenate") Unix's command which copies one or more entire files to the screen or some other output sink without pause.
See also dd, BLT.
Among Unix fans, cat is considered an excellent example of user-interface design, because it delivers the file contents without such verbosity as spacing or headers between the files (the pr command can be used to do this), and because it does not require the files to consist of lines of text, but works with any sort of data.
Among Unix haters, cat is considered the canonical example of *bad* user-interface design, because of its woefully unobvious name. It is far more often used to blast a file to standard output than to concatenate files. The name "cat" for the former operation is just as unintuitive as, say, LISP's cdr.
Of such oppositions are holy wars made.
(1994-11-29)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

cat

In addition to the idioms beginning with cat, also see alley cat; bell the cat; curiosity killed the cat; fat cat; grin like a Cheshire cat; let the cat out of the bag; like a cat on a hot brick; look like something the cat dragged in; look like the cat that ate the canary; more than one way to skin a cat; not enough room to swing a cat; play cat and mouse; rain cats and dogs; when the cat's away.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
cat
cataract
CAT

  1. Caterpillar Inc.

  2. clear air turbulence

  3. computerized axial tomography

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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