cotton ball
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of cotton ball
First recorded in 1750–55
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.
Segura, the nurse, removed the tube from my arm and pressed a cotton ball to the needle prick.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2025
The cleverest hack is to simply soak a cotton ball in your favorite essential oil, drop it in the bottom of your trash can under the liner, and voila!
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2022
The material in the connective tissue gives it a loose consistency similar to a cotton ball that has been pulled apart.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
And Gidget looks like a cotton ball with legs, But the rest of the pets aren’t rendered with such detail.
From Washington Post • Jun. 5, 2019
The sky was streaked with high, thin clouds that looked like a cotton ball stretched apart.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
