A contrived initialism for "Catastrophe At Take Off," t' abbreviation CATO is used as a noun and is generally defined as "a catastrophic failure." Although originally used t' describe t' dramatic malfunction o' a rocket motor, t' use o' CATO has broadened t' include a range o' calamitous events such as a rocket "shredding" in flight due t' aerodynamic stress.

See also: Cato