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cotton ball

American  
[kot-n bawl] / ˈkɒt n ˌbɔl /

noun

  • cotton balls
    plural
  1. a small ball of absorbent cotton.

    The vet showed me how to clean Poco’s ears with a cotton ball soaked in this solution.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


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.

See Examples For:

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

But somehow the fragile insects, each weighing about as much as a cotton ball, travel to the spot where their ancestors mated and began their own journey, at that time headed north.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2017

May dropped her cotton ball on the table and left the room.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

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