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cotton

[ kot-n ]
/ ˈkɒt n /
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noun
verb (used without object)
Informal. to get along; to agree (usually in the negative and followed by with): She didn't cotton with hypocrites.I don't cotton with conventional wisdom on this.
Obsolete. to prosper or succeed.
Verb Phrases
cotton (on) to, Informal.
  1. to come to a full understanding of; grasp or realize: Once you cotton on to this principle, you see examples of it everywhere. Eventually both sets of parents cottoned on to the fact that the kids were lying about “studying” together.
  2. to become fond of; begin to like: I cottoned to the new girl right away when I saw she knew how to muck out a stall.
  3. to approve of; agree with: Some organic gardeners freeze the insects in a container and then put them out for the birds, but your kids may not cotton to this idea.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of cotton

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cotoun, cot(e)in, from Old French coton, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn

OTHER WORDS FROM cotton

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

Other definitions 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. 2023

How to use cotton in a sentence

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
  1. a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres
  2. (as modifier)a cotton dress
any substance, such as kapok (silk cotton), resembling cotton but obtained from other plants

Derived forms of cotton

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
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