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

Australian cattle dogs, meanwhile, are loyal and extremely intelligent, but not known to be as affectionate—and are clever enough to outsmart their owners at times. —Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Aug. 2025

Since trees absorb carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse gas, cutting them to then raise cattle is a double whammy. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2025

The national cattle herd hit its lowest point since 1951 in January, according to the USDA. —Reia Li, AZCentral.com, 12 Aug. 2025

The invasive parasite has been nearing the Mexico–Texas border, threatening the area's cattle industry The U.S. and Mexico are working on numerous plans to combat New World screwworm infestations, including a plan to release sterile male flies to curb the species' spread. —Moná Thomas, People.com, 11 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for cattle

• battel
• battle
• brattle
• chattel
• prattle
• rattle
• tattle
• striatal

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