Cato

[ key-toh ]

noun
  1. Marcus Por·ci·us [pawr-shee-uhs, -shuhs], /ˈpɔr ʃi əs, -ʃəs/, "the Elder" or "the Censor", 234–149 b.c., Roman statesman, soldier, and writer.

  2. his great-grandson, Marcus Porcius "the Younger", 95–46 b.c., Roman statesman, soldier, and Stoic philosopher.

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

How to use Cato in a sentence

  • Marcus Porcius Cato, for example, a man of the utmost uprightness and courage, took this view.

    Ancient Rome | Mary Agnes Hamilton
  • Very different was the outlook of a man like Marcus Porcius Cato.

    Ancient Rome | Mary Agnes Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for Cato

Cato

/ (ˈkeɪtəʊ) /


noun
  1. Marcus Porcius (ˈmɑːkəsˈpɔːʃɪəs), known as Cato the Elder or the Censor. 234–149 bc, Roman statesman and writer, noted for his relentless opposition to Carthage

  2. his great-grandson, Marcus Porcius, known as Cato the Younger or Uticensis. 95–46 bc, Roman statesman, general, and Stoic philosopher; opponent of Catiline and Caesar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Cato

Cato

[ (kay-toh) ]


A politician of ancient Rome, known for his insistence that Carthage was Rome's permanent enemy. He had a custom of ending all his speeches in the Roman senate with the words “Carthage must be destroyed.”

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.