What does "cotton" mean?
fibrous substance; A soft, fibrous, usually white substance consisting of fine hairs, especially the substance around the seeds of a plant of genus Gossypium.
Cotton
/ˈkɒt.n̩/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: fibrous substance; A soft, fibrous, usually white substance consisting of fine hairs, especially the substance around the seeds of a plant of genus Gossypium.
- Grammar: cotton is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cotton fiber, cotton plant, absorbents, ace bandage.
- Useful contrasts: woolen, cashmere, dacrons.
- Usage evidence: Someday I will buy a cotton candy machine.
How to use "cotton"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cotton" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cotton" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cotton" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cotton" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cotton" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cotton fiber" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cotton", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 fibrous substance; A soft, fibrous, usually white substance consisting of fine hairs, especially the substance around the seeds of a plant of genus Gossypium. uncountable, usually
- 2 A liking. no-plural
- 3 fabric woven from cotton fibers wordnet
- 4 fibrous substance; Any similar soft, fibrous, white substance of fine hairs, of any origin. uncountable, usually
- 5 thread made of cotton fibers wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 plant source; A plant of genus Gossypium, used as a source of such fiber. uncountable, usually
"K'a-shih has the most extensive cotton-growing area which amounted to 950 000 mou (6.3 million ares) in 1965."
- 7 erect bushy mallow plant or small tree bearing bolls containing seeds with many long hairy fibers wordnet
- 8 plant source; Any plant that encases its seed in a thin fiber that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth. uncountable, usually
- 9 soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state wordnet
- 10 manufactured product of such substance; Textiles made from the fiber harvested from a cotton plant, especially Gossypium. uncountable, usually
"Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet."
- 11 manufactured product of such substance; An item of clothing made from such textiles. countable, usually
"The little girls appeared, looking fresh and cool in pretty pink cottons, and we two elder ones seized the opportunity of making a more elaborate toilette than usual."
- 12 manufactured product of such substance; A small piece of cotton used as a filter when drawing up a drug into a syringe. uncountable, usually
"Do not re-use needles; use fresh cottons each time."
- 13 manufactured product of such substance; Thread of such fiber. uncountable, usually
- 14 manufactured product of such substance; A wick of a candle. archaic, uncountable, usually
Verb
- 1 To provide with cotton. transitive
"Goddamned fools had cottoned the land, and just worked it to death, destroying the topsoil, so it blew away, and then, when the rains came, gullied it, so that it wasn't worth a damn for anything."
- 2 To get on with someone or something; to have a good relationship with someone.
"What meanes this? doth he dote so much of this strange harlot indeed? now I perceiue how this geare cottens."
- 3 take a liking to wordnet
- 4 To provide with cotton.; To supply with a cotton wick. transitive
"Supposing a frame, or set of moulds, as represented at B, to have wicks carried through each mould, or regularly cottoned, and each wick to be held accurately in the centre of the mould by means of the series of nippers shown at fig. 8, the moulds are first taken to the position shown at B 1, figs. 2, 3, and 4, where they are supported in a perpendicular position on the small straight edges or railway d, d, as seen at fig. 3."
- 5 To provide with cotton.; To fill with a wad of cotton. transitive
"First comes bottling, which is done both by machine and by hand. This is followed by cottoning and capping."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 To provide with cotton.; To wrap with a protective layer of cotton fabric. transitive
"When a tree is to be cottoned the ends from the cops are brought together and tied in a rough knot, which is hitched to a twig. Then, with the tube held upright, the operator walks round the tree as many times as may be necessary to cover it with lines of cotton, raising the metal tube about three feet after each round."
- 7 To provide with cotton.; To cover walls with fabric. transitive
"The rooms downstairs were cottoned, the doors re-hung, and a counter put in the record office."
- 8 To provide with cotton.; To cover with cotton bolls over a layer of tar (analogous to tar and feather ) transitive
"Tar and cotton him," said a student from the college, more facetiously, perhaps, more mercifully inclined. " Think, fellows, what a pretty bird he will be, with cotton for feathers ; — so downy.""
- 9 To make or become cotton-like; To raise a nap, providing with a soft, cottony texture.
"The finishing operations consisted of shearing the nap from the cloth, and frizzing, or cottoning, the surface, by pressing with hot irons."
- 10 To make or become cotton-like; To develop a porous, cottony texture.
"At this moment he saw the plate cottoning, as he expressed it, to his young friend, Charles Freeland, who sat in the pew at his right. He watched to see what the young merchant would give ; and to his amazement, he saw the young man put in a fifty dollar note!"
- 11 To make or become cotton-like; To give the appearance of being dotted with cotton balls.
"A fair piece ahead, in answering signal cottoned the sky in rhythmic puffs."
- 12 To make or become cotton-like; To enshroud with a layer of whiteness.
"Fog cottoned the steep, wooded slopes on each side of the lake, and the air was chill and penetrating."
- 13 To protect from harsh stimuli, coddle, or muffle.
"Jeanne's house, like Usher's, is a void of great silence and immobility and the "somnambulistic gardens" surrounding her house like Usher's tarn "cottoned the sound from the world.""
- 14 To rub or burnish with cotton.
"To oppress one's own workmen, and provide for the workmen of a neighbor — to skin those in charge of one's own interests while cottoning and oiling the residuary product of another's skinnery — that is not very good benevolence, nor very good sense, but it serves in place of both."
Adjective
- 1 Made of cotton. not-comparable
Proper Noun
- 1 The name of several settlements around the world
- 2 A surname from Hebrew.
- 3 The name of several settlements around the world; A village and civil parish in Staffordshire Moorlands district, Staffordshire, England (OS grid ref SK0645).
- 4 A habitational surname from Old English.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Someday I will buy a cotton candy machine."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cotton"?
Common synonyms include: cotton fiber, cotton plant, absorbents, ace bandage, acetate, acetate rayon.
How do you use "cotton" in a sentence?
Someday I will buy a cotton candy machine.
How do you pronounce "cotton"?
Pronounced /ˈkɒt.n̩/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, Old French coton, from (Genoese) Old Italian cotone, from Arabic قُطُن (quṭun).
Etymology 2
1560s, either from Welsh cydun, cytun (“agree, coincide”) (cyduno, cytuno), from cyd, cyt + un (“one”), literally “to be at one with”, or by metaphor with the textile, as cotton blended well with other textiles, notably wool in hat-making.
Etymology 3
From Old English cottūn (“cottage farmstead”), from cot (“cottage”) + tūn (“homestead”).
Etymology 4
From Hebrew קָתָן (katan, “small”).