cat and mouse

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- /kæt ænd ˈmau̇s/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- /kæt ænd ˈmau̇s/

Definitions of cat and mouse words

noun cat and mouse Also called cat and rat. a children's game in which players in a circle keep a player from moving into or out of the circle and permit a second player to move into or out of the circle to escape the pursuing first player. 1
noun cat and mouse Western U.S. tick-tack-toe (def 1). 1
idioms cat and mouse play cat and mouse, to engage in a gamelike relationship in which evasion and pursuit are used: They played cat and mouse for a while before she consented to go out with him. 1
idioms cat and mouse play cat and mouse with, to toy or trifle with. to use strategy on one's opponent, especially while waiting to strike: The detective played cat and mouse with the suspect. 1
noun cat and mouse (Idiomatic) A relationship in which two parties closely monitor and challenge one another in a suspicious or self-protective manner, often because each party is attempting to gain an advantage over the other. 0

See all 5 definitions of cat and mouse

Information block about the term

Origin of cat and mouse

First appearance:

before 1910

One of the 15% newest English words

First recorded in 1910-15

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Cat and mouse

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Cat and mouse

cat and mouse popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 58% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

cat and mouse usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer