cotton

¹ American  

[kot-n] / ˈkɒt 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.

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verb (used without object)

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

   She didn't cotton with hypocrites.

   I don't cotton with conventional wisdom on this.

2. Obsolete. to prosper or succeed.

verb phrase

1. cotton (on) to

   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 American  

[kot-n] / ˈkɒt n /

noun

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

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cotton ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

1. 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

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Cotton ² British  

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• cottony adjective
• half-cotton adjective
• semicotton noun
• uncottoned adjective

Etymology

Origin of cotton

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

Example Sentences

“Oh, it needs a lowrider. It needs a palm tree. It needs perfect orange, cotton candy lighting.”

From Los Angeles Times

It wound up like a dark cloud of cotton candy behind her head.

From Literature

The exhibition will incorporate materials such as antique timber, porcelain, cotton, glass and bronze, and will bring new and existing large-scale work together, on display in the UK for the first time.

From BBC

So he decided to rebuild his shorts and underwear drawer, swapping out garments made from polyester-based fabrics to ones crafted from materials such as organic cotton and merino wool.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ryan Dezember is based in New York and writes about commodities, including oil, natural gas, cotton, lumber and grains, as well as real assets, such as timberland, energy infrastructure and rental houses.

From The Wall Street Journal