cat flap

noun

"cat-flap" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cat flap” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small, hinged panel, usually cut into a door, with an opening just large enough for a cat to enter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cat-flap · cat flap · English

cat flap · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for cat flap
PropertyValue
Headwordcat flap
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cat flap” in English

cat flapranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cat flap is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A small, hinged panel, usually cut into a door, with an opening just large enough for a cat to enter.".

cat flap doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is cat flap, spelled C-A-T- -F-L-A-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small, hinged panel, usually cut into a door, with an opening just large enough for a cat to enter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cat flap appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Then, one Saturday when Martin was working but Yvonne wasn't, she brought a saw and other tools with which she constructed a hinged "cat flap" in a rear down-stairs door. It meant that the cats were free to come and go at any time, the effect being healthier for the pets and for the household.
  2. Jane had sealed up the cat flap, closed the ever-open window of the laundry, but there the cat somehow managed to be, staring up with a look of dependence.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cat flap"?
"cat flap" is spelled C-A-T- -F-L-A-P.
What does "cat flap" mean?
As a noun, "cat flap" means: A small, hinged panel, usually cut into a door, with an opening just large enough for a cat to enter.
What language does "cat flap" come from?
"cat flap" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list