Words / B1

KATL/ˈkætl/

Cattle are cows and bulls kept on a farm for meat or milk. The word is plural: these cattle, not “a cattle”. Livestock is wider (sheep and pigs too); herd is the group. Cattle grid and cattle market are UK farm collocations. Do not use cattle for a single animal — say a cow, a bull, or a calf. Beef cattle and dairy cattle mark the two main uses.

Meaning

Cows and bulls kept on a farm for meat or milk.

Examples

• “The farmer keeps cattle in the field.”
• “Dairy cattle graze in the fields beside the motorway.”
• “A cattle grid stops the animals wandering onto the lane.”

Good to know

Plural only: these cattle. One animal: cow / bull / calf. Wider: livestock. Group: herd. dairy / beef cattle.

Near in meaning

livestock

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