1 definition by makoto1

Catastrophe At Take Off. A military term originally used to describe the sudden explosion of a rocket-propelled device shortly after it has activated.

The term would later be used in civilian context to decribe the action of anything going FUBAR immediately or shortly after its beginning.
The ICBM CATO'ed due to a faulty fuel management system.
by makoto1 August 3, 2006
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