kitten
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
a young cat
-
US equivalent: have a cow. informal to react with disapproval, anxiety, etc
she had kittens when she got the bill
verb
Other Word Forms
- kitten-like adjective
- kittenlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of kitten
1350–1400; Middle English kitoun, apparently blend of kiteling kitling and Middle French chitoun, variant of chaton kitten
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nicholls said her team was called to an abandoned house in Bradford earlier this week where a mother cat and five kittens were found.
From BBC
I stayed home and I learned and I had more fun than a kitten with twenty balls of yarn and three pretend mice.
From Literature
"The Gardener’s Cat" features Louis, a hypersensitive gardener devastated by the impending loss of his kitten, which has a tumour.
From Barron's
Her voice sounded like a kitten’s, so tender and vulnerable.
From Literature
On the large table is a half-finished jigsaw puzzle of kittens in a knitting basket.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
