Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cottarIn 1846 and 1847, potatoes, the subsistence crop of the cottar subtenants who composed nearly half the population on some Hebridean estates, failed almost entirely.—Hugh Raffles, The New York Review of Books, 9 Oct. 2020
Because of France’s social structure, the bulk of the financial strain fell to its peasants, while the top 1% was virtually exempt from paying taxes.
—
Serena Turner,
Vanity Fair,
29 Dec. 2025
One of the most stunning exhibitions of the year put the spotlight on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which has a long history dating back to 1531, tied to four apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a peasant in Mexico.
—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Dec. 2025
Soon there was an altercation at the front desk, when a Haitian upbraided the American peons about not getting her free stuff fast enough.
—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
8 Oct. 2025
Not only does the peon and con man Tom end up refashioning himself as the rich and carefree Dickie, but Highsmith’s novel itself was a retelling of Henry James’s The Ambassadors.
Share