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

Trump is facing criticism from many US cattle ranchers after signaling support for increasing low-tariff beef imports from Argentina to ease record beef prices in the United States. —Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025

A number of factors have kept prices stubbornly high, including widespread drought and the reemergence of a flesh-eating screwworm in Mexican cattle. —Mackensy Lunsford, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025

The researchers also looked for signs of other grazing animals like cattle and native ungulates. —John Leos, AZCentral.com, 23 Oct. 2025

About 1,746 people died, along with thousands of cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, and untold birds, antelope, and other wildlife. —Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 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