cattail

noun

cat·​tail ˈkat-ˌtāl How to pronounce cattail (audio)
: any of a genus (Typha of the family Typhaceae, the cattail family) of tall reedy marsh plants with brown furry fruiting spikes
especially : a plant (Typha latifolia) with long flat leaves used especially for making mats and chair seats

Examples of cattail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As with grass, only offer roots from plants that have not been treated with fertilizers or pesticides. Milkweed Fibers and Cattail Fluff: American goldfinch, Baltimore orioles, and Eastern kingbirds will line their nests with milkweed silk and cattail fluff. — Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2025 Ponda spoke with a person from upstate New York who can confer acreage for growing cattails that can rewet the land, draw down carbon and offer an alternative to conventional polyfill. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 The man dragged the lifeless woman to a tree surrounded by high cattails and covered her in a quilt. — Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024 Ingredients include wild game like boar, pheasant, and venison, plus foraged botanicals such as pine, cattail, and Saskatoon berries. — Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 27 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for cattail

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cattail was in 1548

Rhymes for cattail

See All Rhymes for cattail

Browse Nearby Words

cattail
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cattail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cattail. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

cattail

noun
cat·​tail ˈkat-ˌtāl How to pronounce cattail (audio)
: a tall marsh plant that bears very tiny flowers and fruit in brown furry spikes at the end of long stalks

More from Merriam-Webster on cattail

Nglish: Translation of cattail for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cattail

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All