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cottonwood

American  
[kot-n-wood] / ˈkɒt nˌwʊd /

noun

  • cottonwoods
    plural
  1. any of several American poplars, as Populus deltoides, having toothed, triangular leaves and cottonlike tufts on the seeds.


cottonwood British  
/ ˈkɒtənˌwʊd /

noun

  1. any of several North American poplars, esp Populus deltoides, whose seeds are covered with cottony hairs

  2. Also called: tauhinu. a native New Zealand shrub, Cassinia leptophylla , with daisy-like flowers

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of cottonwood

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; cotton + wood 1


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:

“It brings back memories of hunkering down behind an old cottonwood drift log…drinking black coffee from a Stanley thermos and waiting for mallards to whistle by,” he mused on Facebook, where he does his campaigning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Vegetation visible along the reservoir shoreline and river channel includes tamarisk, willow, cottonwood, sedges, and various grasses.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026

Along rivers and creeks, bright yellow cottonwood trees congregated in bursts of yellow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

And for me, this cottonwood brings a kind of serenity and continuous awe.

From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024

“Miss Sadie gave me this bucket and told me to find a young cottonwood tree in the moonlight.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

When an eight-mile stretch of cottonwoods and willows suddenly died in 2005, it became clear that something needed to change.

From Slate ● May 26, 2025

The wetland attracts birds, such as coots and tricolored blackbirds, and also recharges the aquifer that the roots of cottonwoods and willows tap into.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024

Within a few years, there were 9600 young cottonwoods in a single hectare.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 18, 2023

On the horizon stand silent cottonwoods known as “witness trees.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2023

Under the jack oaks and the cottonwoods there was nothing.

From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong

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