Main Entry:

cat's–paw

Pronunciation:

\ˈkats-ˌpȯ\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural cat's–paws

Date:

circa 1769

1: a light air that ruffles the surface of the water in irregular patches during a calm2 [from the fable of the monkey that used a cat's paw to draw chestnuts from the fire] : one used by another as a tool : dupe <the…government became the cat's–paw for foreign powers — D. J. Boorstin>3: a hitch knot formed with two eyes for attaching a line to a hook — see knot illustration