cottage industry

American  

noun

1. the production, for sale, of goods at home, as the making of handicrafts by rural families.

2. any small-scale, loosely organized industry.

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cottage industry British  

noun

1. an industry in which employees work in their own homes, often using their own equipment

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Etymology

Origin of cottage industry

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cottage industry

At nine months old, Recho is part of a relatively new cottage industry of firms capitalizing on marketers’ interest in and confusion around Reddit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

In the intervening years, however, a cottage industry of compounding pharmacies emerged, including Ro and Hims & Hers Health.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

As a result, a cottage industry of mental health “expat therapists” has emerged, helping people navigate these complex emotions of moving abroad.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

A whole cottage industry has also developed online to advise landlords how to flip rental properties.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

If eugenics was becoming a cottage industry in Germany, it was already a full-fledged national operation in America.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee