kitten
part of speech
noun (a kitten, kittens)
meaning for a pupil
1) A kitten is a young cat. tree →
2) Kitten can be a loving name for something small and cute. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons about life cycles, a cat grows from a kitten into an adult cat; kittens are mammals that drink their mother's milk. In pet care, kittens need food, warmth, play, a litter tray and visits to the vet. In stories, a kitten often stands for something small, playful or helpless. Phrases: a litter of kittens, as weak as a kitten, have kittens (be very worried, informal).
examples
- Our cat had four kittens. tree →
- The kitten chased a ball of wool. tree →
- Kittens open their eyes when they are about a week or two old. tree →
- Be gentle when you pick up a kitten. tree →
- A kitten needs a warm, safe place to sleep. tree →
- The kitten grew into a big ginger cat. tree →
- Only by night did she creep out unseen to procure food for her kittens. tree →
note
Plural kittens. A group of kittens born together is a litter. Young of other animals: puppy (dog), cub (lion, bear), calf (cow), foal (horse). Kittens should not drink cow's milk; it can upset their tummies.
In the corpora
- Bots are good at giving long lists of ideas quickly, such as names for a kitten.
- A cat with its tail held straight up is friendly and greeting you, the way kittens greet their mother.
- A kitten is a tiny hunter in training.
- Kittens and puppies spend even more time in this busy sleep than grown-up cats and dogs.
- Read this: «Nell found the stray kitten behind the bins.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «kitten» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.