Definition of CATNIP

catnip

Plural: catnips

Noun

  • An aromatic herb, especially appealing to cats, causing excitement.
  • hairy aromatic perennial herb having whorls of small white purple-spotted flowers in a terminal spike; used in the past as a domestic remedy; strongly attractive to cats
  • Any of the about 250 species of flowering plant of the genus Nepeta, family Lamiaceae, certain of which are said to have medicinal qualities.
  • Nepeta cataria and Nepeta grandiflora (and perhaps other species), which are well-known for causing an apparently harmless pheromone-based intoxication among certain cats.
  • Something that causes excitement or interest.

Examples

  • Some cats go bonkers over catnip; others ignore it.
  • The triple-word score for CATNIP was pure catnip to his Words With Friends strategy.

Origin / Etymology

Compound of cat + nep, nip (“catnip”), from Middle English nep, from Old English nepte, from Proto-West Germanic *nepetā, from Latin nepeta (“catnip”). Compare earlier catmint (“catnip”), from Middle English catt mynte, which very likely existed in Old English (as *cattes minte) as well.

Synonyms

catmint, Nepeta cataria, catwort

Scrabble Score: 10

catnip: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
catnip: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
catnip: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

catnip: valid Words With Friends Word