cotton

1 of 2

noun

cot·​ton ˈkä-tᵊn 

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)

Illustration of cotton

• 1 flowering branch
• 2 fruit (unopened)
• 3 fruit (partly opened)

cotton

2 of 2

verb

cottoned; cottoning

ˈkät-niŋ, 

ˈkä-tᵊn-iŋ 

intransitive verb

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

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.

Synonyms of cotton

Verb

• know
• understand
• decipher
• recognize
• see
• comprehend
• appreciate
• catch on (to)
• tumble (to)
• grasp

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

Noun

Referring to the sacks, Straughter recently showed visitors a cotton pick sack suspended from the gallery’s tall ceiling. —Susan Degrane, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026

Rail lines and schooners transported cotton, lumber, bricks, and tar across Lake Pontchartrain to meet the growing demands of New Orleans. —Symiah Dorsey, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2026

Verb

Pieces range from four-way stretch technical gym and yoga gear, to cotton knit blazers, cashmere sweaters, hybrid and performance footwear. —Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 16 Feb. 2026

The concept never quite cottoned with consumers though and the stores were more of a curiosity than a mass market phenomenon. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English coton, from Anglo-French cotun, from Old Italian cotone, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing cotton

• cotton ball
• cotton bollworm
• cotton bud
• cotton candy
• cotton gin
• cotton grass
• cotton on
• cotton stainer
• cotton swab
• cotton to
• cotton wool
• cotton wool ball
• Egyptian cotton
• pima cotton
• sea island cotton
• silk cotton
• silk-cotton tree
• upland cotton

Rhymes for cotton

• gotten
• rotten
• antiproton
• begotten
• forgotten
• guncotton

Kids 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 2

biographical name (2)

John 1585–1652 American (English-born) Puritan clergyman