cotton gin
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of cotton gin
An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800
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.
Among the other inventions ranked, coronary bypass surgery finished in the 26th spot, cotton gin, 30th, dishwasher, 50th, bluejeans, 56th, and Post-it Notes, 60th.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Keeping up with the pace of technology has challenged Congress since the steam engine and the cotton gin transformed the nation’s industrial and agricultural sectors.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2024
At a cotton gin in the San Joaquin Valley, in California, a boxy machine helps to spray a fine mist containing billions of molecules of DNA onto freshly cleaned Pima cotton.
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023
His father had a dry-goods store and a cotton gin, both of which he lost during the Great Depression, according to a 2010 interview he gave to the Washington Post.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2023
Shoulders slouched, Father sets off with Belle pulling the wagon to the cotton gin.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
