English Reference

Word

cat

US/ˈkæt/

UK/kˈæt/

Definitions

01pet animal

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. a small animal with fur, four legs, and a tail that people often keep as a pet.

n. the domestic feline mammal, Felis catus, commonly kept as a companion animal or for catching mice.

“The cat sat on the windowsill and watched the birds in the garden.”

“The domestic cat has lived alongside humans for thousands of years, valued for its predatory instincts and companionship.”

Synonyms

felinepussycat

02wild feline

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. any large wild animal in the same family, such as a lion or tiger.

n. any of various carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, including both small and large species.

“Lions and tigers are the largest cats in the world.”

“Conservationists are working to protect the habitats of big cats like leopards and jaguars from further encroachment.”

Synonyms

felid

03jazz fan or person

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Music Slang · Informal

n. a person, especially someone who likes jazz music.

n. a person, particularly a man; historically associated with jazz subculture and beatnik slang.

“He was a cool cat who knew everything about the local jazz scene.”

“The club was filled with hip cats who spent the entire night discussing the nuances of bebop.”

Synonyms

04boat

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Nautical Informal

n. a short way of saying catamaran, which is a boat with two hulls.

n. A shortened form of catamaran, referring to a multi-hulled watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size.

“We spent the weekend sailing a small cat around the bay.”

“The racing cat proved much faster than the traditional monohulls during the regatta's opening leg.”

Synonyms

05computing command

C1 · Advanced Computing Technical

v. to show the contents of a computer file on the screen.

v. To use the Unix 'cat' utility to concatenate and display the contents of files.

“You can cat the log file to see the latest errors.”

“The developer decided to cat the configuration files into a single output for easier debugging.”

Synonyms

concatenatedisplay

06terrible

C2 · Proficiency Dialect · Informal · British English

adj. very bad or terrible.

adj. Used to describe something of very poor quality or a disastrous situation.

“The weather was absolutely cat during our holiday in the west.”

“The traffic on the motorway was cat, causing us to miss the start of the performance.”

Teaching tip

This usage is specific to Hiberno-English (Ireland) and is rarely understood outside of that region.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Word family

Related words

Idioms

Domains

ComputingMedicineMilitaryNautical

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
Frequency
Common
Level
A1 · BeginnerOxford
Updated

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English Reference