cot

¹ 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 ² 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 ³ American  

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. cotangent.

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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 cot¹

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

Origin of cot¹

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

Example Sentences

I turn, and on the wall next to Colin’s small cot of a bed I see it.

From Literature

I sit on my cot and tape the drawing back together as best I can.

From Literature

That night I lie in a cot in a room filled with dozens of girls.

From Literature

Melissa Ashcroft said her size 36M breasts made parts of her life difficult, distressing and painful – leaving her sometimes unable to even lift her newborn daughter out of her cot.

From BBC

As debate swirled on social media, the baby Jesus, represented by his fabric head, disappeared from the Christmas cot on Saturday, prompting the authorities to replace the son of God and tighten security.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bunk