Illustration of cotton
- 1 flowering branch
- 2 fruit (unopened)
- 3 fruit (partly opened)
often attributive
1
a
: 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; cottoning
ˈkät-niŋ 
ˈkä-tᵊn-iŋ
1
: to take a liking
—used with to
cottons to people easily
2
: to come to understand
—used with to or on to
cottoned on to the fact that our children work furiously—
H. M. McLuhan
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.
Examples of cotton in a Sentence
Noun
They are in the field picking cotton.
She doesn't wear cotton in the winter.
Verb
failed to cotton on to the fact that her senatorial campaign was going nowhere
Recent Examples on the Web
John Klar, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2025
They’re made from 100 percent cotton, which is not only soft and comfortable, but also breezy and breathable—a must for hot Southern weather.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2025
James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cotton
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Noun
Glyphosate is used widely as an integral part of raising crops including corn, soybeans and cotton genetically modified to resist its killer effect, and as a desiccant on potatoes, sugar beets, wheat and other crops just before harvest.
—John Klar, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2025
They’re made from 100 percent cotton, which is not only soft and comfortable, but also breezy and breathable—a must for hot Southern weather.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
The crowd looked befuddled, but Dugin cottoned at once.
—James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cotton
Cite this Entry
“Cotton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cotton. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cotton
1 of 2 noun
cot·ton
ˈkät-ᵊn
1
a
: a soft usually white fluffy material that is made up of the hairs around the seeds of a tall plant related to the mallows and that is spun into yarn
b
: any plant that produces cotton
2
a
: fabric made of cotton
b
: yarn spun from cotton
cotton
adjective
cotton
2 of 2 verb
cottoned; cottoning
ˈkät-niŋ
-ᵊn-iŋ
: to take a liking
cottoned to them at our first meeting
Medical Definition
cotton
noun
cot·ton
ˈkät-ᵊn
often attributive
1
: 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)
2
: a plant producing cotton
especially
: one grown for its cotton
Biographical Definition
Cotton 1 of 2
biographical name (1)
Cot·ton
ˈkä-tᵊn
Charles 1630–1687 English author and translator
Cotton
2 of 2biographical name (2)
John 1585–1652 American (English-born) Puritan clergyman
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