: 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
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
Unlike most of the relatively flat Dakota prairie, the Missouri breaks that make up much of Sutton Bay’s landscape create an assortment of coulees with cattail bottoms, perfect lairs to hide the shifty late-season pheasants.
—Chris Dorsey, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Phosphorous fuels algal blooms, and once unleashed into the Everglades, allows plants such as cattails to choke out natural vegetation.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 25 Nov. 2024
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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
Unlike most of the relatively flat Dakota prairie, the Missouri breaks that make up much of Sutton Bay’s landscape create an assortment of coulees with cattail bottoms, perfect lairs to hide the shifty late-season pheasants.
—Chris Dorsey, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Phosphorous fuels algal blooms, and once unleashed into the Everglades, allows plants such as cattails to choke out natural vegetation.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 25 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cattail
Dictionary Entries Near cattail
Cite this Entry
“Cattail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cattail. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cattail
noun
cat·tail
ˈkat-ˌtāl 
: a tall marsh plant that bears very tiny flowers and fruit in brown furry spikes at the end of long stalks
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