Kitten Definition: Explanation, Surprising Facts, and Test

Define “kitten” by looking at the typical examples of how pet owners and English speakers in general refer to this word when they are expressing their feelings and thoughts.

Although “kitten” is quite a specific term, being familiar with these associated words will not only give you a wider vocabulary but also help you to communicate better and be more flexible while doing it.

Related nouns: cat dog puppy

Synonyms (contextual): kitty kitty cat baby cat

Common collocations: newborn kitten playful kitten curious kitten

Build your knowledge of collocations by having an understanding of how to say “kitten” properly in combination with other parts of speech such as verbs, adjectives and various nouns.

With adjectives: tiny kitten cute kitten fluffy kitten funny kitten

With verbs: adopt a kitten find a kitten feed kittens play with kittens

With nouns (noun + noun): kitten food kitten behavior kitten eyes kitten paws

While this word does not appear in as many idioms as cats, these expressions capture the meaning of “kitten” and characteristics to help you sound more natural!

• Weak as a kitten — very weak or physically feeble, lacking strength or energy.

  After being sick with the flu for a week, I felt as weak as a kitten.

• Playful as a kitten — describes someone who is very energetic, curious and full of light-hearted fun, often behaving in a lively and innocent way, just like a young cat that loves to jump, chase and explore everything around it.

  After finishing his work, John became playful as a kitten, laughing, joking and turning even small tasks into a game.

• Kitten heel — a short, thin heel on women’s shoes, usually 1-2 inches high.

  Sarah wore comfortable kitten heels to the wedding instead of high stilettos.

Check how well you understand all the material. Read the assignments and complete this intellectual game!

Learn how to spell “kitten” and properly pronounce it with the examples provided from French, German and Spanish.

Kittens are more than just cute — these fascinating details reveal the amazing developmental journey of these tiny, beautiful creatures!

• Kittens are born blind and deaf.

  The usual period for the opening of the eyes is between 7 and 10 days, but the clarity of vision does not occur until about 2-3 weeks. The same period is also when the hearing starts developing, so the first weeks become very important for kittens to have their mother’s care.

• The “kitten season” creates shelter overcrowding.

  Mainly, cats have their breeding season in the warm months, thus turning the whole spring to autumn period into one of the “kitten season” that shelters have to deal with kittens requiring adoption. Just in the US, about 3.2 million cats find their way into shelters every year.

• Kittens need socialization before 12 weeks.

  When kittens are gently handled by humans, taken to different places and are around other animals at this stage, they usually grow up as more friendly and self-assured adult cats. If this period is missed, it can lead to the development of fearful or even hostile cats.

• Kittens sleep 18-20 hours per day.

  Just like human infants, kittens require a significant amount of sleep for their proper growth. While they are still very young, they will sleep for up to 20 hours a day. The duration of their sleep will slowly be reduced as they become older.

Discover what writers, poets and animal lovers have expressed about these irresistibly cute creatures throughout history and how they described “kitten” in English.