cottage industry
noun
1
: an industry whose labor force consists of family units or individuals working at home with their own equipment
2
: a small and often informally organized industry
3
: a limited but enthusiastically pursued activity or subject
this debate about sex and law became a cottage industry for feminist academics—
Wendy Kaminer
Wendy KaminerExamples of cottage industry in a Sentence
weaving, pottery, and other cottage industries
Recent Examples on the Web
Disney has created a cottage industry with Freaky Friday, which includes several movies as well as a Broadway production.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Ancillary revenue generators helped spur the development of a cottage industry of smaller preservation services.
—Brent Simon, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
Since disappearing, Earhart keeps surfacing, born aloft on wild postulations from a cottage industry staffed with history buffs, aviation nerds and undersea explorers.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
In response, some city residents have banded together to form a cottage industry of nonprofits and organizations whose goal is to reduce gun violence and serve gun violence victims, survivors and their families.
—Michel Martin, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024
As Trump campaigns to retake the White House, polls suggest Republicans have become increasingly willing to accept his pronouncements, even as a cottage industry of fact-checkers suggests reality lies elsewhere.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Recently, a cottage industry operating mostly on social media has sprung up to address this longstanding lack, offering advice and services to thousands of sufferers who turn to the internet for answers.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 25 Mar. 2024
And calling out images that were created by artificial intelligence without proper labeling has become a virtual cottage industry in the media world.
—Karla Adam, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Since then, research and rankings on presidential greatness have bloomed into a cottage industry.
—Jonathan Bean, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2024
Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Ancillary revenue generators helped spur the development of a cottage industry of smaller preservation services.
—Brent Simon, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
Since disappearing, Earhart keeps surfacing, born aloft on wild postulations from a cottage industry staffed with history buffs, aviation nerds and undersea explorers.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
In response, some city residents have banded together to form a cottage industry of nonprofits and organizations whose goal is to reduce gun violence and serve gun violence victims, survivors and their families.
—Michel Martin, NPR, 15 Apr. 2024
As Trump campaigns to retake the White House, polls suggest Republicans have become increasingly willing to accept his pronouncements, even as a cottage industry of fact-checkers suggests reality lies elsewhere.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Recently, a cottage industry operating mostly on social media has sprung up to address this longstanding lack, offering advice and services to thousands of sufferers who turn to the internet for answers.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 25 Mar. 2024
And calling out images that were created by artificial intelligence without proper labeling has become a virtual cottage industry in the media world.
—Karla Adam, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Since then, research and rankings on presidential greatness have bloomed into a cottage industry.
—Jonathan Bean, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cottage industry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cottage industry
Cite this Entry
“Cottage industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cottage%20industry. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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