- 1a small animal with soft fur that people often keep as a pet. Cats catch and kill birds and mice cat food see kitten, tomcat
- 2a wild animal of the cat family the big cats (= lions, tigers, etc.) see fat cat, wildcat Idioms
to be the best thing, person, idea, etc. He really thinks he's the cat's meow (= he has a high opinion of himself).
to be raining heavily
said to someone, especially a child, who stays silent when expected to speak, for example after being asked a question What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?
used to tell someone not to ask questions or try to find out about things that do not concern them
to argue in a very angry way, especially regularly over a period of time We fought like cats and dogs when we were younger.
to tell a secret carelessly or by mistake I wanted it to be a surprise, but my sister let the cat out of the bag.
very nervous She was like a cat on a hot tin roof before her driving test.
very pleased with yourself synonym smug She looked like a cat that got the canary—she was almost purring with pleasure.
(of a person) to look dirty and messy
when someone says there's no room to swing a cat, they mean that a room is very small and that there is not enough space
play (a game of) cat and mouse with somebody, play a cat-and-mouse game with somebody jump to other results
there are many different ways to achieve something
people enjoy themselves more and behave with greater freedom when the person in charge of them is not there
Check pronunciation: cat