: domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use
specifically: bovine animals on a farm or ranch
2
: human beings especially en masse
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe infected lettuce was grown downslope from public land where cattle grazed in the Salinas Valley in California. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 1 Sep. 2022 The Rewilding Network authors cite a 2008 study that found that cattle grazing across all public lands only accounted for two percent of beef production nationally. Wes Siler, Outside Online, 16 Aug. 2022 Mendes signed a law Thursday that allows cattle raising in the Pantanal´s private preservation areas. Fabiano Maisonnave, ajc, 6 Aug. 2022 People often try to feed the cows and other animals, and cattle often defecate near the lake’s periphery resulting in an accumulation of organic matter.Quartz, 19 July 2022 At least 2,000 cattle in Kansas died in June during a nasty heatwave. Chloe Sorvino, Forbes, 1 July 2022 At least 2,000 Kansas cattle have died in recent days amid soaring temperatures and high humidity, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News, 16 June 2022 At least 2,000 cattle have died as of Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment told ABC News. Kyla Guilfoil, ABC News, 16 June 2022 In Kansas, at least 2,000 cattle have died as a result of the heat, state officials said. Omar Abdel-baqui, WSJ, 16 June 2022 See More
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.
ADJECTIVE | ... OF CATTLE | VERB + CATTLE | CATTLE + VERB | CATTLE + NOUN | PHRASESADJECTIVE➤beef, dairy菜牛;奶牛▸➤Highland, longhorn, shorthorn高地牛;長角牛;短角牛▸➤native本地牛▸➤wild野牛➤domestic家養牛➤live活牛... OF CATTLE➤head一頭牛◇5 000 head of cattle died of the disease in one month.1 個月內有 5,000 頭牛死於這種疾病。➤herd一群牛VERB + CATTLE➤keep, raise, rear (especially BrE) 養牛▸➤breed繁育牛▸➤tend看管牛▸➤graze放牛吃草◇Villagers traditionally have the right to graze their cattle on the common land.按慣例村民可以在公用地上放牛。➤drive, herd, move, round up驅趕牛;把牛趕到一起◇He moved his cattle farther down into the valley in winter.冬天他把牛趕到山谷中更遠的地方。➤kill, slaughter殺牛;屠宰牛▸➤rustle, steal搶劫牛;偷牛CATTLE + VERB➤graze牛吃草◇cattle grazing in the fields正在牧場吃草的牛CATTLE + NOUN➤auction, market牛隻拍賣;牛市場▸➤breeding, production, ranching, rearing牛的繁育/生產/放牧/飼養➤industry養牛業➤drive (NAmE) 趕牛▸➤baron (NAmE, old-fashioned) , breeder, dealer, farmer, herder, producer, rancher (NAmE) 養牛大亨;養牛人;牛販子;養牛的農場主;放牛人;飼養牛的人;養牛的牧場主➤rustler盜牛賊▸➤farm, ranch養牛的農場/牧場➤herd牛群▸➤feed, food牛飼料▸➤grid, guard (NAmE) 牛柵欄;牛護欄◇There was a cattle grid / guard across the road.路那邊有個牛柵欄以防牛兒跑掉。➤prod趕牛刺棒◇Electric cattle prods were used against the demonstrators.當局用趕牛電棒來對付示威者。➤car, truck載牛車廂/卡車➤country (NAmE) 養牛的鄉村PHRASES➤a breed of cattle某一品種的牛