cat's claw
noun
Simple meaning
Any of several species of plant having parts resembling the claw of a cat.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
katesklawSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkætɛsklɔ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any of several species of plant having parts resembling the claw of a cat.
Uncaria tomentosa, a plant species found in the tropical jungles of South and Central America
Dolichandra unguis-cati (cat's claw creeper), a Central American climbing vine of the Bignoniaceae family
Uncaria rhynchophylla, a plant species used in traditional Chinese medicine
Senegalia lowei (syn. Acacia plumosa, feathery acacia), a medicinal plant species native to Brazil
Senegalia greggii, formerly Acacia greggii, a tree species native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any of several species of plant having parts resembling the claw of a cat.
Used this way, cat's claw is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “cat's claw” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.