Meaning

(idiomatic) suspenseful, involving alternating roles of attack and defence..

Definitions by Sense

1. (idiomatic) suspenseful, involving alternating roles of attack and defence.
2. Alternative form of cat and mouse.
3. To engage in a game of cat and mouse.

Example Sentences

From a cat-and-mouse sequence at a busy airport to a long car chase through Rome to a grand finale aboard a runaway train, each action scene tops the one before it.

Does that produce a different dynamic when they meet in battle? ‘It does,’ said Hoy. ‘I tell myself that it doesn’t matter who you race against, you try to expose their weaknesses. The only difference is that they know your weaknesses. It just makes it a bit more of a mind game, a cat-and-mouse strategy.

A cat-and-mouse thriller with delusions of grandeur, The Statement arrives wrapped in an intimidating mystique of high-minded solemnity that makes its vagueness and incoherence all the more disappointing when the pieces don't add up.

Word Forms

• cat-and-mouses
• cat-and-mousing
• cat-and-moused

Related Words

When Should You Use Cat-and-mouse?

Use cat-and-mouse when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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