1
: a strong-scented perennial mint (Nepeta cataria) that has whorls of small pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats
2
: something very attractive
Examples of catnip in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The idea of purgatory has always been catnip to playwrights, going back centuries.
—
Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
And cats generally tend to leave Christmas cactus alone because there's nothing particularly attractive about them, unlike, say a catnip plant or cat grass.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2024
More than any of the wide-ranging jobs Miranda has taken on in the past five years, The Warriors, a classic yarn about underprivileged New Yorkers weathering an arduous power struggle, is catnip for the 44-year-old Pulitzer Prize–winning polymath.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
Why do my cats find catnip calming instead of invigorating?
—Jack Gedney, The Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for catnip 
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Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024
And cats generally tend to leave Christmas cactus alone because there's nothing particularly attractive about them, unlike, say a catnip plant or cat grass.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2024
More than any of the wide-ranging jobs Miranda has taken on in the past five years, The Warriors, a classic yarn about underprivileged New Yorkers weathering an arduous power struggle, is catnip for the 44-year-old Pulitzer Prize–winning polymath.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
Why do my cats find catnip calming instead of invigorating?
—Jack Gedney, The Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for catnip
Dictionary Entries Near catnip
Cite this Entry
“Catnip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catnip. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
catnip
noun
cat·nip
-ˌnip 
: a strong-scented herb of the mint family that is especially attractive to cats
Medical Definition
catnip
noun
cat·nip
-ˌnip
variants
also catnep
1
: a strong-scented mint (Nepeta cataria) that has small pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats
called also cataria, catmint
2
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