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cotton
1[ kot-n ]
noun
- 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.
- the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.
- such plants collectively as a cultivated crop.
- cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton.
- any soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants.
verb (used without object)
- 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.
- Obsolete. to prosper or succeed.
verb phrase
- Informal.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- John, 1584–1652, U.S. clergyman, colonist, and author (grandfather of Cotton Mather).
cotton
1/ ˈkɒtən /
noun
- 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
- the soft white downy fibre of these plants: used to manufacture textiles
- cotton plants collectively, as a cultivated crop
- a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres
- ( as modifier )
a cotton dress
- any substance, such as kapok ( silk cotton ), resembling cotton but obtained from other plants
Cotton
2/ ˈkɒtən /
noun
- 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
Word History and Origins
Origin of cotton1
Example Sentences
As this basket is woven out of cotton, it can be folded and even carefully ironed if needed.
The team swabbed a roll of clean cotton under each volunteer’s arm for one minute.
As far back as 1993, people were talking about adding color genes to cotton.
In the next few months, the team, led by senior research scientist, Colleen MacMillan, will coax the tissue into full-grown cotton plants.
A cotton mask with a cotton batting filter, for example, initially filtered out roughly 33 percent of the salt particles.
Tom Cotton credits Harvard as the place where he “discovered political philosophy as a way of life.”
With a pop of color and fun print, this cotton pair is not at all stuffy.
May we suggest Friendly Fox, a crotched animal made from 100-percent cotton.
For instance, in Arkansas, a projected 57 percent of voters backed Republican Tom Cotton for the Senate.
In his victory speech Tuesday night, Cotton declared, “The people of Arkansas have made their choice.”
This would in any event have depressed prices of cotton, even under ordinary conditions.
Cotton exchanges reopened on November 16, and stock exchanges opened for restricted trading shortly thereafter.
When in the city they wore a rough felt conical hat and dark blue cotton robe.
There was no finery in her wardrobe, a few neat cotton gowns for summer wear, and homespun for the winter—that was all.
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.
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