adjective, cat·ti·er, cat·ti·est.
- catlike; feline.
- slyly malicious; spiteful: a catty gossip.
noun, plural cat·ties.
- (in China and southeast Asia) a weight equal to about 1½ pounds (680 grams) avoirdupois.
adjective -tier or -tiest
- informal spitefula catty remark
- of or resembling a cat
noun plural -ties
- a unit of weight, used esp in E Asia, traditionally equal to about one and a half pounds but formalized as 0.5 kg in mainland China, 0.6 kg in Taiwan and Thailand, and about 0.605 kg in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore(Mandarin) Chinese name:: jin
1886, “devious and spiteful,” from cat (n.) + -y (2). Slightly earlier was cattish. Meaning “pertaining to cats” is from 1902. Related: Cattily; cattiness.