cat and mouse

noun

Definition of cat and mouse

: behavior like that of a cat with a mouse: such as

a : the act of toying with or tormenting something before destroying it

b : a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes played a game of cat and mouse with the police broadly : an evasive action

Examples of cat and mouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But unscrupulous chemists keep tinkering with the molecular structure -- sometimes by altering a single atom -- in order to stay one step ahead of the feds in a constant game of cat and mouse. — Kevin Krause, Dallas News, "Synthetic marijuana prosecutions get mixed results due to legal complications," 25 Dec. 2020 The old game of cat and mouse continued Tuesday afternoon in Corvallis, following the Oregon State Beavers’ workout at the Valley Football Center. — Joe Freeman, oregonlive, "Tristan Gebbia ‘limited’ during Oregon State Beavers’ practice, Chance Nolan preparing to start at quarterback vs. Utah Utes," 2 Dec. 2020 Just look at the Best Drama category: there's critical darling Succession, fan favorite The Mandalorian, and the alluring cat and mouse game that is Killing Eve. — Sabienna Bowman, refinery29.com, "No More Excuses: Where To Watch All The Biggest Emmy-Nominated Shows Of 2020," 19 Sep. 2020 Wearing multi-colored rain ponchos, hard hats and carrying umbrellas, the largely peaceful demonstrators used cat and mouse tactics inspired by the 2019 Hong Kong protests to avoid authorities. — Helen Regan, CNN, "Thailand's government vows to protect the monarchy after weekend of unrest," 19 Oct. 2020 For forty years, up until 1993, the British Queen enjoyed an income tax exemption thanks to the generosity of successive UK governments who played cat and mouse with Parliament and the media to keep the matter away from public scrutiny. — David Mcclure, Town & Country, "Does Queen Elizabeth Pay Her Fair Share of Taxes?," 3 Oct. 2020 Sheidheda puts on a little bit of a cat and mouse game before unveiling himself to Madi. — Dalene Rovenstine, EW.com, "The 100 recap: And they’re back on Earth (again)," 17 Sep. 2020 Moreover, in an evolutionary game of cat and mouse, viruses have developed decoy antigens specially designed to lure host immune systems into developing ineffective antibodies. — Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, "It Will Take More Than a Vaccine to Beat COVID-19," 8 Sep. 2020 That’s why there is little to celebrate in these stories of cat and mouse, but there is a lot to learn from these exhaustive manhunts. — Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, "Only One Of The Fugitives From Netflix’s World’s Most Wanted Has Been Caught," 5 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cat and mouse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

15 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Cat and mouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cat%20and%20mouse. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.

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