Basic Details
Word: Cattle
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Cows, bulls and oxen kept on a farm for milk, meat or work. The word is plural.
Synonyms: livestock, cows, herd
How to Spell Cattle
Syllables: cat - tle
Tricky part: There is a double t, and the ending is -le, not -el or -al.
Watch out for: catle, cattel, cattal
Memory tip: Picture the two t's in cattle as the two horns on a cow's head.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The cattle rested under the banyan tree in the afternoon heat.
Example 2: During Mattu Pongal, farmers in Tamil Nadu decorate their cattle with paint and bells.
Example 3: A herd of cattle blocked the village road for ten minutes.
Fun Fact
Cattle comes from the same old French word as chattel, which means property. For centuries, cattle were one of the main forms of wealth a family owned.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. irigation 2. ferteliser 3. ammonea 4. cattle
a) supplying water to land or crops through channels or pipes
b) cows and bulls kept on a farm
c) a substance added to soil to help plants grow
d) a gas with a strong smell used in cleaning products
Show answer
b) cows and bulls kept on a farm. Irrigation needs a double r, fertiliser an i after the t and ammonia ends in -ia; cattle is the right one.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to cattle as used in the sentence:
Every November, villagers bring their cattle to the Pushkar fair to buy and sell.
a) tools
b) livestock
c) poultry
d) crops
Show answer
b) livestock. Cattle are farm animals, so livestock fits; poultry are farm birds such as hens.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The drought left the farmers with very little fodder for their tlecta.
a) tablet
b) cattle
c) castle
d) tackle
Show answer
b) cattle. Fodder is food for farm animals, and tlecta rearranges into cattle.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every evening the old farmer led his catle down to the river to drink, and the sound of their bells carried across the paddy fields.
a) catle
b) farmer
c) paddy
d) river
Show answer
a) catle. Cattle has two t's in the middle.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Goats, cows, bulls and oxen: which one is not counted as cattle?
a) bull
b) cow
c) ox
d) goat
Show answer
d) goat
2. Which sentence uses cattle correctly?
a) One cattle is grazing.
b) The cattles are grazing.
c) The cattle are grazing.
d) A cattle is grazing.
Show answer
c) The cattle are grazing.
