catnip Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun hairy aromatic perennial herb having whorls of small white purple-spotted flowers in a terminal spike; used in the past as a domestic remedy; strongly attractive to cats
    Nepeta cataria; catmint.

WordNet

Cat"nip`, Cat"mint` noun (Also<
  • Catnip
  • Catmint
)
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A well-know plant of the genus Nepeta (N. Cataria), somewhat like mint, having a string scent, and sometimes used in medicine. It is so called because cats have a peculiar fondness for it.

Webster 1913