cotton

[ kot-n ]

/ ˈkɒt n /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cotton ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mallow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc.

the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.

such plants collectively as a cultivated crop.

cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton.

any soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants.

verb (used without object)

Informal. to get on well together; agree.

Obsolete. to prosper or succeed.

Verb Phrases

cotton (on) to, Informal.

to become fond of; begin to like.
to approve of; agree with: to cotton to a suggestion.
to come to a full understanding of; grasp: More and more firms are cottoning on to the advantages of using computers.

Nearby words

cotter pin, cotter slot, cottian alps, cottid, cottier, cotton, cotton batting, cotton belt, cotton bollworm, cotton bud, cotton bush

Origin of cotton

1250–1300; Middle English coton < Old French < Old Italian cotone < Arabic qutun, variant of qutn

Related forms

half-cot·ton, adjectivesem·i·cot·ton, nounun·cot·toned, adjective

Definition for cotton (2 of 2)

Cotton

[ kot-n ]

/ ˈkɒt n /

noun

John,1584–1652, U.S. clergyman, colonist, and author (grandfather of Cotton Mather).

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cotton

With a pop of color and fun print, this cotton pair is not at all stuffy.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Don Draper in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
May we suggest Friendly Fox, a crotched animal made from 100-percent cotton.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Blue Ivy in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Cotton declared, “The people of Arkansas have made their choice.”
In Arkansas, The House That Bubba Built Crumbles|Patricia Murphy|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Beast did not provide this image to Buerck or the NRA but did so to the Cotton campaign.
A Tom Cotton Ad on Grindr?|Ben Jacobs|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A spokesman for the Cotton campaign confirmed to The Daily Beast that they had “not paid for or placed that ad.”
A Tom Cotton Ad on Grindr?|Ben Jacobs|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She had gained time on me and was crossing the Cotton Belt Ry.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States|Work Projects Administration
Other products are sesame, cotton, cucumbers, water-melons and onions.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9|Various
It is small, with clear water, and for some distance down it, there is no timber but cotton wood.
The Scout and Ranger|James Pike
Its Sehna knot, cotton warp and weft, as well as much of the drawing, are typical of Persia.
Oriental Rugs|Walter A. Hawley
A great deal of cotton is cultivated here, about thirty feet above the Lake.
The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume II (of 2), 1869-1873|David Livingstone

British Dictionary definitions for cotton (1 of 2)

cotton

/ (ˈkɒtən) /

noun

any of various herbaceous plants and shrubs of the malvaceous genus Gossypium, such as sea-island cotton, cultivated in warm climates for the fibre surrounding the seeds and the oil within the seedsSee also sea-island cotton

the soft white downy fibre of these plants: used to manufacture textiles

cotton plants collectively, as a cultivated crop

a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres
(as modifier)a cotton dress

any substance, such as kapok (silk cotton), resembling cotton but obtained from other plants

Derived Forms

cottony, adjective

Word Origin for cotton

C14: from Old French coton, from Arabic dialect qutun, from Arabic qutn

British Dictionary definitions for cotton (2 of 2)

Cotton

/ (ˈkɒtən) /

noun

Sir Henry. 1907–87, English golfer: three times winner of the British Open (1934, 1937, 1948)

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