: a soft usually white fibrous substance composed of the hairs surrounding the seeds of various erect freely branching tropical plants (genus Gossypium) of the mallow family
b
: a plant producing cotton
especially: one grown for its cotton
c
: a crop of cotton
2
a
: fabric made of cotton
b
: yarn spun from cotton
3
: a downy cottony substance produced by various plants (such as the cottonwood)
cottoned on to the fact that our children work furiously—H. M. McLuhan
Did you know?
The noun cotton first appears in English in the late Middle Ages. It comes, via Anglo-French and Old Italian, from the Arabic word for cotton, quṭun or quṭn. In the 15th century, cotton acquired a verb use meaning "to form a nap on (cloth)." Though this verb sense is now obsolete, our modern-day use might have spun from it. In 1822, English philologist Robert Nares reported that cotton had been used to mean "to succeed" and speculated that this use came from "the finishing of cloth, which when it cottons, or rises to a regular nap, is nearly or quite complete." The meaning of cotton shifted from "to get on well" to "to get on well together," and eventually to the sense we know today, "to take a liking to." The "understand" sense appeared later, in the early 20th century.
Noun
They are in the field picking cotton.
She doesn't wear cotton in the winter.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Everlane jean is made with organic cotton and has a straight-leg cut that looks seamless with casual or dressy outfits.—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 27 Nov. 2023 Most people tend to favor wool and cashmere, but really fine, long-staple cottons can also be insulating for the winter months.—Todd Plummer, Robb Report, 27 Nov. 2023 It’s made of durable waterproof waxed cotton twill with a preppy corduroy collar and dainty gold buttons.—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 26 Nov. 2023 It’s made with an organic cotton cover and filling and includes edge support.—Bridget Shirvell, Parents, 25 Nov. 2023 The cotton twill is impressively heavy duty, without being too restrictive.—Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 24 Nov. 2023 Price at time of publish: $29 Dress up the table with this Hanukkah table runner, made from cotton and linen.—Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 22 Nov. 2023 Afterward, punch holes in each snowflake and thread through hemp, jute or cotton twine.—Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023 Its plush fleece fabric is lined with cozy cotton jersey and it’s made with a touch of spandex to give you even more breathing room.—Marissa Miller, Travel + Leisure, 21 Nov. 2023
Verb
Hermès cotton shirt, $640; Brunello Cucinelli cotton gabardine pants, $1,495; Giorgio Armani suede belt, $495; Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days GMT Power Reserve Automatic Acciaio, $11,900.—Alex Badia, Robb Report, 12 Mar. 2023 Tomato growers, dairies take a hit In the Tulare Lake basin, not only will cotton production drop, the region’s dominant tomatoes, used for spaghetti sauce, frozen pizza, ketchup and many other things, will be limited.—Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 May 2023 Many of us recoil from the pose—the overworked hair, the hulking gait, the monstrous height, the hard eyes—but some seem to cotton to it.—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 26 Aug. 2020 Even a flashback to 1981 in the first episode feature a sequence which is narrated backwards, though many viewers may not cotton on.—John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Oct. 2022 From handmade jewelry to soy wax candles to cotton terry hand towels, it’s one of the trendiest shops in Reykjavik’s Harbour District.—Katie Lockhart, House Beautiful, 5 Aug. 2022 From Sichuan peppercorns to cotton to housing, the concern this year in China is sinking prices.—Eva Dou, Washington Post, 15 July 2022 Bentley was the first of the top-shelf global brands to cotton on, introducing the powerful and sumptuous Bentayga in 2015.—Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 14 July 2022 And regulators cotton on to certain tactics and try to crack down, well, the drug companies find another avenue.—al, 18 Jan. 2022 See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cotton.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English coton, from Anglo-French cotun, from Old Italian cotone, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn
: a soft usually white fibrous substance composed of the hairs surrounding the seeds of various erect freely branching tropical plants (genus Gossypium) of the mallow family and used extensively in making threads, yarns, and fabrics (as in surgical dressings)
Share