Phrase guide

have kittens

verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To become extremely upset.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • Your mum will have kittens when she sees what you've done to your hair!
  • My teacher has kittens every time I get a question wrong.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To be in a state of frantic nervousness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • The guests are starting to arrive, but the hostess is having kittens because nothing is ready yet.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

Usually of a female cat, to give birth to kittens.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: literal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

get very angry and fly into a rage

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question
  • Spam makes me go ballistic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: flip one's lid, blow up, throw a fit, hit the roof, hit the ceiling, have a fit, combust, blow one's stack, fly off the handle, flip one's wig, lose one's temper, blow a fuse, go ballistic

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rage

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: een toeval krijgen — to become extremely upset
  • French: péter une coche — to become extremely upset
  • Icelandic: brjálast — to become extremely upset
  • Icelandic: trompast — to become extremely upset
  • Icelandic: verða brjálaður — to become extremely upset
  • Serbo-Croatian: dobiti mlade — to become extremely upset