catnip

noun

cat·​nip ˈkat-ˌnip How to pronounce catnip (audio)
1
: a strong-scented perennial mint (Nepeta cataria) that has whorls of small pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats
2
: something very attractive

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Quality-of-life issues have been voter catnip in my Orange County homeland for generations. Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022 Any shred of information about her is catnip for the media. Ryan Leas, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2023 These are definitely some attractive ideas—catnip for screenwriters and bipartisanship fetishists. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 6 Jan. 2023 Thanks to robust multiplexing which proved catnip to Latin America’s predominantly young cinema going audiences, U.S. movies command a much higher market share in Latin America to any other foreign region in the world, over 80% to Europe’s around 65%. John Hopewell, Variety, 7 Dec. 2022 The two-term Republican has been comedy catnip throughout his nine-year Senate career. Dallas News, 2 Feb. 2022 There was lots of TikTok catnip. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023 Such lines are catnip to the populist grassroots. Matthew Continetti, National Review, 11 Feb. 2023 The researchers repeated all of their experiments with catnip and found very different results. Sam Zlotnik, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catnip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

cat entry 1 + obsolete nep catnip, from Middle English, from Old English nepte, from Latin nepeta

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of catnip was in 1712

Dictionary Entries Near catnip

Cite this Entry

“Catnip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catnip. Accessed 29 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

catnip

noun
cat·​nip -ˌnip How to pronounce catnip (audio)
: a strong-scented herb of the mint family that is especially attractive to cats

Medical Definition

catnip

noun
cat·​nip -ˌnip How to pronounce catnip (audio)
variants also catnep
1
: a strong-scented mint (Nepeta cataria) that has small pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats

called also cataria, catmint

2

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