cattail

IPA/ˈkætteɪl/
IPA/ˈkætteɪl/

cattail — noun

  • cattailsingular
  • cattailsplural

1. a plant found in very wet places, with tall stems, blade-shaped leaves, and a th

1.nounC2
Definition

a plant found in very wet places, with tall stems, blade-shaped leaves, and a thick dark-brown flower head

Example

Obi cut three cattails from the ditch for his science display.

countable noun: cut three cattails

A line of cattails hid the ducks beside the quiet pond.

Common collocations
  • brown cattail head
  • cattail marsh
  • dry cattail leaves
  • cut cattails
Synonyms
  • bulrush

    often used for the same plant in everyday North American English, though it can also name related wetland plants

  • reed

    a broader word for tall grass-like plants near water, not only cattails

  • rush

    another broader wetland-plant word, often for thinner plants without the brown head

Grammar Patterns

a cattail grows beside a pond

cattails line the edge of the water

cut down the cattails by the ditch

Usage Note

Usually countable. In everyday descriptions, people often focus on the soft brown flower head that stands above the leaves.

Common Mistakes

We picked some reeds, but they were really cattails.
We picked some cattails, not reeds.
Reed is a broader word, while cattail names this wetland plant with the thick brown head.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cattail is the most exact word when you mean the tall wetland plant with a thick brown flower head. Bulrush is often used for the same plant in everyday North American speech, but it can also refer to some similar plants, so it is a little less precise. Reed is broader and often points to tall water-side grasses in general, especially when the speaker does not care about the exact species. Rush is also a broad word, and it often suggests thinner wetland plants without the familiar brown head. If you want a nature guide or science class label, cattail is usually the safest choice.

bulrush ↗reed ↗rush ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cattail leaves
  • cattail seeds
  • cattail head

Phrases

  • a patch of cattails
  • cut down the cattails

Prepositions

  • cattails by the pond
  • cattails in the marsh

Etymology

English

The English word cattail joins cat and tail. Speakers gave the plant this name because its soft brown flower head looks like a cat's tail standing on a stem.