Breadcrumb Home > Dictionary > Index C cata-: Meaning and Definition of Find definitions for: cata- Pronunciation: [key] a prefix meaning “down,” “against,” “back,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (cataclysm; catalog; catalepsy); on this model, used in the formation of other compound words (catagenesis; cataphyll). Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease. cat catabaptist ✖ Related Content Daily Word Quiz: hegira Analogy of the Day: Today’s Analogy Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language