cattle

plural noun

cat·​tle ˈka-tᵊl 

1

: domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use

specifically : bovine animals on a farm or ranch

2

: human beings especially en masse

Examples of cattle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Advertisement These include the observations of the virus spreading between cows within the same herd, from cows to poultry, and the movement of the virus between dairies associated with cattle movements. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024

The virus has spread across cattle herds in Texas to humans and chickens. —Jonel Aleccia, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024

In response to the panic, 4.5 million cattle were slaughtered and discarded. —Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 18 Apr. 2024

At the time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed that the virus was detected in cows in Texas, Kansas and Michigan, revealing that the virus may be spread between cattle. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024

Over time, continued transmission among cattle is likely to yield mutations that will further increase the efficiency of mammal-to-mammal transmission. —Luciana Borio and Phil Krause, STAT, 12 Apr. 2024

Unlike cattle, however, pythons don’t feed on sustainable growth like grass. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024

Both enslaved and free Black people were central to the cattle industry that was a crucial part of the economy during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. —TIME, 12 Apr. 2024

So far, there's some reassuring news: At a recent meeting, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the virus is not presenting like a respiratory illness in cattle – meaning the animals don't appear to be shedding large amounts of virus from their nose or mouths. —Will Stone, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English catel, cadel "property (whether real or personal), goods, treasure, livestock, (in plural cateles) possessions," borrowed from Anglo-French katil "property, goods, wealth," borrowed from medieval French (dialects of Picardy and French Flanders) catel, going back to Medieval Latin capitāle "movable property, riches," (in Anglo-Saxon law texts) "head of cattle," noun derivative from neuter of capitālis "of the head, chief, principal" — more at capital entry 1

Note: Note that the spelling cattle is uncommon before the eighteenth century. Anglo-French katil is a variant of chatel—see chattel, which is a doublet of this word. Though the variant with [k] is rare in Anglo-French, catel is frequent and used almost interchangeably with chatel in Middle English. The sense "livestock," however, is only attached to catel, to judge from citations in the Middle English Dictionary. — Regarding the meaning "movable property, riches" of capitālis see the note at capital entry 2.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cattle

• Australian cattle dog
• beef cattle
• cattle call
• cattle egret
• cattle grid
• cattle grub
• cattle guard
• cattle prod
• cattle tick
• common cattle grub
• dairy cattle
• short-nosed cattle louse

Kids Definition

cattle

noun

cat·​tle ˈkat-ᵊl 

plural cattle

: domestic four-footed animals held as property or raised for use

especially : bovine animals (as cows, bulls, or steers) kept on a farm or ranch