Divestiture - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions		3 Months Ended
Nov. 30, 2021	Dec. 31, 2021
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Impairment charge		$ 197
Purification Solutions [Member]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Disposal value for the sale of business	$ 111
Proceeds from sale of business	$ 80
Impairment charge		197
Impairment charge after tax		160
Marshall Mine \| ADA Carbon Solutions, LLC [Member]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		$ 11

Asset impairment charges after tax.

No definition available.

Name:	cbt_AssetImpairmentChargesAfterTax
Namespace Prefix:	cbt_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred through that date, including liabilities incurred and payable to vendors for goods and services received, taxes, interest, rent and utilities, compensation costs, payroll taxes and fringe benefits (other than pension and postretirement obligations), contractual rights and obligations, and statutory obligations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.15)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120400017&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.15(1),(5))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120398452&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountsPayableAndAccruedLiabilitiesCurrentAndNoncurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of write-down of assets recognized in the income statement. Includes, but is not limited to, losses from tangible assets, intangible assets and goodwill.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123570139&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123351718&loc=d3e2420-110228

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of consideration received or receivable for the disposal of assets and liabilities, including discontinued operation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationConsideration
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the cash inflow during the period from the sale of a component of the entity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123570139&loc=d3e3179-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ProceedsFromDivestitureOfBusinessesNetOfCashDivested
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=cbt_PurificationSolutionsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeStatementBalanceSheetAndAdditionalDisclosuresByDisposalGroupsIncludingDiscontinuedOperationsAxis=cbt_MarshallMineMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=cbt_ADACarbonSolutionsLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: