cot

¹ American  

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. cotangent.

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cot ² American  

[kot] / kɒt /

noun

1. a light portable bed, especially one of canvas on a folding frame.

2. British. a child's crib.

3. a light bedstead.

4. Nautical. a hammocklike bed stiffened by a suspended frame.

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cot ³ American  

[kot] / kɒt /

noun

1. a small house; cottage; hut.

2. a small place of shelter.

3. a sheath or protective covering, as for an injured finger or toe.

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cot ¹ British  

/ kɒt /

noun

1. a child's boxlike bed, usually incorporating vertical bars

2. a collapsible or portable bed

3. a light bedstead

4. nautical a hammock-like bed with a stiff frame

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cot ² British  

/ kɒt /

abbreviation

1. cotangent

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cot ³ British  

/ kɒt /

noun

1. literary a small cottage

2. Also called: cote.

   1. a small shelter, esp one for pigeons, sheep, etc

   2. ( in combination )

      dovecot

3. another name for fingerstall

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cot ⁴ British  

/ kɒt /

verb

1. dialect to entangle or become entangled

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cot Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of cotangent

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Etymology

Origin of cot²

1625–35; < Hindi khāṭ < Prakrit khaṭṭā < Sanskrit khaṭvā; akin to Tamil kattil bedstead

Origin of cot³

before 900; Middle English, Old English cot (neuter; cf. cote ¹); cognate with Old Norse kot hut; akin to cubby, cove ¹

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Explanation

A cot is a small, portable bed. You might sleep on a cot when you go camping. Some hotels offer cots for extra guests who stay in your room, and campers and soldiers on the move often use cots for sleeping. A cot's benefits include its light weight and ability to be folded into an easily carried size. In Britain, a cot is a baby bed or crib. Cot has a Hindi source, khat, "couch, bed, or hammock" from the Sanskrit khatva.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cot

Sleeping on a cot in the team facility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Devi has used many years’ worth of meager birthday savings to send away for college-admissions materials, which she has cherished “like secret and holy things” and stowed carefully under her cot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

But he also didn’t want to die an old man on a rusted prison cot.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Lauryn says the "one thing she is grateful for" is the "cooling cot", which allowed them to spend time with Lois in hospital.

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

I set the box on the cot and stepped away so that he could examine it closer.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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