KITTEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kitten mean? 

• KITTEN (noun)
  The noun KITTEN has 1 sense:

1. young domestic cat

  Familiarity information: KITTEN used as a noun is very rare.

• KITTEN (verb)
  The verb KITTEN has 1 sense:

1. give birth to kittens

  Familiarity information: KITTEN used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KITTEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Young domestic cat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

kitten; kitty

Hypernyms ("kitten" is a kind of...):

young mammal (any immature mammal)

Derivation:

kitten (give birth to kittens)

• KITTEN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they kitten    ... he / she / it kittens   
Past simple: kittened   
Past participle: kittened   
-ing form: kittening   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give birth to kittens

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

our cat kittened again this year

Hypernyms (to "kitten" is one way to...):

bear; birth; deliver; give birth; have (cause to be born)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

kitten (young domestic cat)

 Context examples 

She had the doctor trait which some dogs possess; and as a mother cat washes her kittens, so she washed and cleansed Buck’s wounds.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Beth had a headache and lay on the sofa, trying to comfort herself with the cat and three kittens.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The attitude of the two had a terrible resemblance to a child forcing a kitten's nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Here he mewed so like a kitten that Toto pricked up his ears and looked everywhere to see where she was.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

It was a lynx kitten, partly grown, like the cub, but not so large.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But being afraid the boy might owe me a spite, and well remembering how mischievous all children among us naturally are to sparrows, rabbits, young kittens, and puppy dogs, I fell on my knees, and pointing to the boy, made my master to understand, as well as I could, that I desired his son might be pardoned.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The sixth house is also the house ruling small domestic animals, so if you were thinking of adopting a little puppy or kitten, this is the time to visit the rescue center where you can find one that will pull at your heartstrings.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Toto had run into the crowd to bark at a kitten, and Dorothy at last found him.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

He had eaten the lynx kitten.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But buds will be roses, and kittens cats, more's the pity!

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)