cat around

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

To engage in sex with various partners; to sleep around; to cheat on a sexual partner.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

quan hệ tình dục với nhiều người; ngoại tình

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Mrs S. was convinced that any girl who visited a boy in his bedsitter after 10 p.m. was up to no good. 'If you boys want to cat around, okay, but you're not going to do it under my roof! This is a respectable house!' she was fond of saying whenever she suspected we were trying to put one across her

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

To wander; to waste time or idle.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

lảng vảng, lãng phí thời gian

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: slang

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “cat around” mean?

To engage in sex with various partners; to sleep around; to cheat on a sexual partner.

Is “cat around” formal or informal?

cat around is generally slang.