cat

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. 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. n. Any of various other carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, which includes the lion, tiger, leopard, and lynx.
3. n. The fur of a domestic cat.
4. n. Informal A woman who is regarded as spiteful.
5. n. Slang A person, especially a man.
6. n. Slang A player or devotee of jazz music.
7. n. A cat-o'-nine-tails.
8. n. A catfish.
9. n. Nautical A cathead.
10. n. Nautical A device for raising an anchor to the cathead.
11. n. Nautical A catboat.
12. n. Nautical A catamaran.
13. v. Nautical To hoist an anchor to (the cathead).
14. v. Slang To look for sexual partners; have an affair or affairs: "catting around with every lady in sight” ( Gore Vidal).
15. idiom. let the cat out of the bag To let a secret be known.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A domesticated carnivorous quadruped of the family Felidæ and genus Felis, F. domestica. It is uncertain whether any animal now existing in a wild state is the ancestor of the domestic cat; probably it is descended from a cat originally domesticated in Egypt, though some regard the wildcat of Europe, F. catus, as the feral stock. The wildcat is much larger than the domestic cat, strong and ferocious, and very destructive to poultry, lambs, etc.
2. n. In general, any digitigrade carnivorous quadruped of the family Felidæ, as the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, etc., especially of the genus Felis, and more particularly one of the smaller species of this genus; and of the short-tailed species of the genus Lynx.
3. n. A ferret.
4. n. A gossipy, meddlesome woman given to scandal and intrigue.
5. n. A catfish.
6. n. A whip: a contraction of cat-o'-nine-tails.
7. n. A double tripod having six feet: so called because it always lands on its feet, as a cat is proverbially said to do.
8. n. In the middle ages, a frame of heavy timber with projecting pins or teeth, hoisted up to the battlements, ready to be dropped upon assailants. Also called prickly cat.
9. n. A piece of wood tapering to a point at both ends, used in playing tip-cat.
10. n. The game of tip-cat. Also called cat-and-dog.
11. n. In faro, the occurrence of two cards of the same denomination out of the last three in the deck.
12. n. In coal-mining, a clunchy rock. See clunch.
13. n. [Apparently in allusion to the sly and deceitful habits of the cat.] A mess of coarse meal, clay, etc., placed on dovecotes, to allure strangers.
14. n. In plastering, that portion of the first rough coat which fills the space between the laths, often projecting at the back, and serving to hold the plaster firmly to the walls.
15. n. The salt which crystallizes about stakes placed beneath the holes in the bottom of the troughs in which salt is put to drain.
16. n. A ship formed on the Norwegian model, having a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and a deep waist.
17. n. Nautical, a tackle used in hoisting an anchor from the hawse-hole to the cat-head.
18. To draw (an anchor) up to the cat-head.
19. To fill with soft clay, as the intervals between laths: as, a chimney well catted.
20. To fish for catfish.
21. n. An abbreviated form of catamaran.
22. n. The form of cata- before a vowel.
23. n. In medieval warfare, a machine resembling the pluteus, under the protection of which soldiers worked in sapping walls and fosses.
24. n. plural In mining, burnt clay used for tamping.
25. n. Same as channel-cat.
26. To act after the manner of soft clay or mortar in filling crevices.
27. An abbreviation of Catalan: [lowercase] of catalogue; of catechism.

Wiktionary

1. n. computing A ‘catenate’ program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to an output device.
2. v. transitive, computing To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
3. v. To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target) usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.
4. n. A catamaran.
5. adj. Ireland, informal terrible, disastrous.
6. n. A street name of the drug methcathinone.
7. n. military, naval A catapult.
8. n. Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, bobcats, etc.
9. n. A catfish.
10. n. An enthusiast or player of jazz.
11. n. slang A person (usually male).
12. n. nautical A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.
13. n. nautical Contraction of cat-o'-nine-tails.
14. n. slang Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)
15. n. archaic A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").
16. n. archaic, uncountable The game of "trap and ball" (also called "cat and dog").
17. n. archaic, uncountable The trap of the game of "trap and ball".
18. n. slang, vulgar, African American Vernacular A vagina; female external genitalia
19. v. nautical To hoist (the anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.
20. v. nautical To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
21. v. slang To vomit something.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) Any animal belonging to the natural family Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx. The domestic cat is Felis domestica. The European wild cat (Felis catus) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx (Lynx rufus). The larger felines, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred to as cats, and sometimes as big cats. See wild cat, and tiger cat.
2. n. A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade.
3. n. A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship.
4. n. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.
5. n. An old game
6. n. The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat.
7. n. A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat, two old cat, etc.
8. n. same as cat o' nine tails.
9. n. A catamaran.
10. v. (Naut.) To bring to the cathead. See anchor.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a whip with nine knotted cords
2. n. an informal term for a youth or man
3. n. a spiteful woman gossip
4. v. eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
5. n. the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
6. n. a large tracked vehicle that is propelled by two endless metal belts; frequently used for moving earth in construction and farm work
7. v. beat with a cat-o'-nine-tails
8. n. feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats.
9. n. a method of examining body organs by scanning them with X rays and using a computer to construct a series of cross-sectional scans along a single axis
10. n. any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild