Cheshire cat


noun
  1. a constantly grinning cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Idioms about Cheshire cat

  1. grin like a Cheshire cat, to smile or grin inscrutably.

Words Nearby Cheshire cat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Cheshire cat in a sentence

  • But on the Cheshire-cat hypothesis, the social problem can never be solved, because it is not a real problem at all.

    The Behavior of Crowds | Everett Dean Martin
  • Leila relaxed exaggeratedly in her chair, her Cheshire-cat smile predominating her features.

  • Alice was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire-Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.

    Alice in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll

Cultural definitions for Cheshire cat

Cheshire cat

[ (chesh-uhr) ]


A cat with an enormous grin encountered by Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. The cat tends to disappear, leaving only its smile hanging in the air.

Notes for Cheshire cat

“Smiling like a Cheshire cat” refers to anyone with a conspicuous and long-lasting smile.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.