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Synonyms

cotter

1 American  
[kot-er] / ˈkɒt ər /

noun

  1. a pin, wedge, key, or the like, fitted or driven into an opening to secure something or hold parts together.

  2. cotter pin.

verb (used with object)

  1. to secure with a cotter.

cotter 2 American  
[kot-er] / ˈkɒt ər /

noun

  1. Scot. a person occupying a plot of land and cottage, paid for in services.

  2. cottager.

cotter 1 British  
/ ˈkɒtə /

noun

  1. any part, such as a pin, wedge, key, etc, that is used to secure two other parts so that relative motion between them is prevented

  2. short for cotter pin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to secure (two parts) with a cotter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
cotter 2 British  
/ ˈkɒtə /

noun

  1. Also called: cottier.  English history a villein in late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman times occupying a cottage and land in return for labour

  2. Also called: cottar.  a peasant occupying a cottage and land in the Scottish Highlands under the same tenure as an Irish cottier

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cotter1

1300–50; Middle English coter; akin to late Middle English coterell iron bracket; of uncertain origin

Origin of cotter2

1175–1225; Middle English cotere < Anglo-French cot ( i ) er; cot 2, -er 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the U.S. cotter pin in the United Nations, Lodge was given Cabinet status and a large voice in U.S. policy�and grew in stature to measure up to both.

From Time Magazine Archive

As far as anyone could determine, both tragedies resulted from faulty cotter pins, only an inch or two long.

From Time Magazine Archive

Jaws adjust to open wide, making easy work of bending the legs of new cotter pins and loosening large nuts.

From Time Magazine Archive

The ring is attached to a light cable which jerks out two cotter pins freeing the flaps of the canvas 'chute-pack.

From Time Magazine Archive

With the cotter pin pliers the ends may be brought close together and as the plier jaws are small the pin may be easily pushed in place.

From Aviation Engines Design?Construction?Operation and Repair by Pag?, Victor Wilfred

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.