cotton wool

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noun

cotton in its raw state, as on the boll or gathered but unprocessed.

British. absorbent cotton.

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Origin of cotton wool

First recorded in 1590–1600

Words nearby cotton wool

cotton top, cotton waste, cottonweed, cottonwick, cottonwood, cotton wool, cottony, cottony-cushion scale, cottus, cotula, cotunnite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cotton wool in a sentence

Turns out that wool regulates temperature, repels water, wicks away moisture, and resists stains and dirt.
The Coolest Fashion Innovations of 2014|Raquel Laneri|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The resulting Wool Runners were comfortable, eco-friendly, machine-washable, and super cute—and sold out almost immediately.
The Coolest Fashion Innovations of 2014|Raquel Laneri|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tom Cotton credits Harvard as the place where he “discovered political philosophy as a way of life.”
Harvard’s Conservative Cabal Takes Congress|Patricia Murphy|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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
This would in any event have depressed prices of cotton, even under ordinary conditions.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Cotton exchanges reopened on November 16, and stock exchanges opened for restricted trading shortly thereafter.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
So Hettie put the chicken in a cage, with some wool to cover it, and fed it several times every day, till it came to know her.
The Nursery, July 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 1|Various
When in the city they wore a rough felt conical hat and dark blue cotton robe.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
There was no finery in her wardrobe, a few neat cotton gowns for summer wear, and homespun for the winter—that was all.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie

British Dictionary definitions for cotton wool

cotton wool

noun

Also called: purified cotton mainly British bleached and sterilized cotton from which the gross impurities, such as the seeds and waxy matter, have been removed: used for surgical dressings, tampons, etcUsual US term: absorbent cotton

cotton in the natural state

British informal

a state of pampered comfort and protection
(as modifier)a cotton-wool existence

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