cattle

noun

Domesticated animal of the species Bos taurus (cows, bulls, steers, oxen etc), and other hoofed mammals of the genus Bos.

Certain other livestock, such as sheep, pigs or goats. Also rarely applied to horses.

(derogatory, figuratively) People who resemble domesticated bovine animals in behavior or destiny.

A surname.

(uncountable, rare) Used in restricted contexts to refer to the meat derived from cattle.

(obsolete, English law, sometimes countable, plural cattles) chattel

verb

(transitive, Cockney rhyming slang) Ellipsis of cattle truck (“to fuck: to break, destroy”). [(transitive) To transport on, or as if on, a cattle truck.]

Roots

caputcatt- · Latin · head

Synonyms for cattle

oxenn livestockn kinen shorthornn beeves oxn beefn longhornn calfn milkern

Synonyms & related words for cattle

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of cattle — including oxen, livestock, kine, shorthorn, beeves, ox. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to cattle

Explore words related to cattle — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include cows, winterfeed, bovines, herds, feedlot, ranches, heifers, sheepwalk. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for cattle

Common synonyms for cattle include oxen, livestock, kine, shorthorn, beeves, ox, beef, longhorn — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does cattle come from?

The word cattle breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root catt-, from Latin caput (“head”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.