cottage

American  

[kot-ij] / ˈkɒt ɪdʒ /

noun

1. a small house, usually of only one story.

2. a small, modest house at a lake, mountain resort, etc., owned or rented as a vacation home.

3. one of a group of small, separate houses, as for patients at a hospital, guests at a hotel, or students at a boarding school.

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cottage British  

/ ˈkɒtɪdʒ /

noun

1. a small simple house, esp in a rural area

2. a small house in the country or at a resort, used for holiday purposes

3. one of several housing units, as at a hospital, for accommodating people in groups

4. slang a public lavatory

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Other Word Forms

• cottaged adjective

Etymology

Origin of cottage

1350–1400; Middle English cotage. See cot ², -age; compare Medieval Latin cotagium, apparently < Anglo-French

Example Sentences

"Yes, I do worry a bit, especially because there's now a whole cottage industry of companies that try to make a big buck and make it even simpler to install OpenClaw," he said.

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Pictures show an exterior that conjures up images of a fairy-tale cottage hidden away among the trees, while the interior is a vibrant rainbow of colors, textures, and decor.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

Yet it appears instead to have spawned a cottage industry spinning out fresh Epstein conspiracy theories.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Dandridge told the court he and his wife had been staying at the Gallops holiday cottage for three weeks before the attack, which happened three days before his 71st birthday.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

The adrenaline from saving the red-shoed girl was wearing off, and he’d spent a great deal of energy battling the pull of the Afterlife to make it back to the cottage.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• bungalow
• cabin
• chalet
• home
• hut
• lean-to
• lodge
• ranch
• shack
• shanty