cotton

¹

[ kot-n ]

noun

1. a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mallow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc.
2. the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.
3. such plants collectively as a cultivated crop.
4. cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton.
5. any soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants.

verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to get along; to agree (usually in the negative and followed by with ):

   She didn't cotton with hypocrites.

   I don't cotton with conventional wisdom on this.

2. Obsolete. to prosper or succeed.

verb phrase

1. Informal.
   1. to come to a full understanding of; grasp or realize:

      Once you cotton on to this principle, you see examples of it everywhere.

      Eventually both sets of parents cottoned on to the fact that the kids were lying about “studying” together.

   2. to become fond of; begin to like:

      I cottoned to the new girl right away when I saw she knew how to muck out a stall.

   3. to approve of; agree with:

      Some organic gardeners freeze the insects in a container and then put them out for the birds, but your kids may not cotton to this idea.

Cotton

²

[ kot-n ]

noun

1. John, 1584–1652, U.S. clergyman, colonist, and author (grandfather of Cotton Mather).

cotton

¹

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

1. See sea-island cotton
   any of various herbaceous plants and shrubs of the malvaceous genus Gossypium, such as sea-island cotton, cultivated in warm climates for the fibre surrounding the seeds and the oil within the seeds See also sea-island cotton
2. the soft white downy fibre of these plants: used to manufacture textiles
3. cotton plants collectively, as a cultivated crop
4. 1. a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres
   2. ( as modifier )

      a cotton dress

5. any substance, such as kapok ( silk cotton ), resembling cotton but obtained from other plants

Cotton

²

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

1. CottonSirHenry19071987MBritishSPORT AND GAMES: golfer Sir Henry. 1907–87, English golfer: three times winner of the British Open (1934, 1937, 1948)

Derived Forms

• ˈcottony, adjective

Other Words From

• half-cot·ton adjective
• sem·i·cot·ton noun
• un·cot·toned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cotton¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cotoun, cot(e)in, from Old French coton, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn

Word History and Origins

Origin of cotton¹

C14: from Old French coton, from Arabic dialect qutun, from Arabic qutn

Example Sentences

As this basket is woven out of cotton, it can be folded and even carefully ironed if needed.

From Popular-Science

The team swabbed a roll of clean cotton under each volunteer’s arm for one minute.

From Science News For Students

As far back as 1993, people were talking about adding color genes to cotton.

From Singularity Hub 

In the next few months, the team, led by senior research scientist, Colleen MacMillan, will coax the tissue into full-grown cotton plants.

From Singularity Hub 

A cotton mask with a cotton batting filter, for example, initially filtered out roughly 33 percent of the salt particles.

From Science News For Students

Tom Cotton credits Harvard as the place where he “discovered political philosophy as a way of life.”

From The Daily Beast

With a pop of color and fun print, this cotton pair is not at all stuffy.

From The Daily Beast

May we suggest Friendly Fox, a crotched animal made from 100-percent cotton.

From The Daily Beast

For instance, in Arkansas, a projected 57 percent of voters backed Republican Tom Cotton for the Senate.

From The Daily Beast

In his victory speech Tuesday night, Cotton declared, “The people of Arkansas have made their choice.”

From The Daily Beast

This would in any event have depressed prices of cotton, even under ordinary conditions.

From Project Gutenberg

Cotton exchanges reopened on November 16, and stock exchanges opened for restricted trading shortly thereafter.

From Project Gutenberg

When in the city they wore a rough felt conical hat and dark blue cotton robe.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no finery in her wardrobe, a few neat cotton gowns for summer wear, and homespun for the winter—that was all.

From Project Gutenberg

He's very tall an' gran', an' w'ars fine close, an' han's is white as a cotton bat, but his eyes doan set right in his head.

From Project Gutenberg