Definitions for cotton
ˈkɒt ncot·ton

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cotton, cotton fiber, cotton woolnoun

   soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state

2. cottonnoun

   fabric woven from cotton fibers

3. cotton, cotton plantnoun

   erect bushy mallow plant or small tree bearing bolls containing seeds with many long hairy fibers

4. cottonverb

   thread made of cotton fibers

5. cottonverb

   take a liking to

   "cotton to something"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. COTTONnoun

   The down of the cotton-tree.

   Etymology: named, according to Stephen Skinner, from the down that adheres to the mala cotonea, or quince, called by the Italians cotogni; whence cottone, Ital. cotton, French.

   The pin ought to be as thick as a rowling-pin, and covered with cotton, that its hardness may not be offensive. Richard Wiseman.

2. Cottonnoun

   A plant.

   The flower consists of one leaf, cut into several segments almost to the bottom, and is of the expanded bell shape: from the center rises a pyramidal hollow tube, adorned and loaded with chives: from the empalement shoots up the pointal, fixed like a nail in the bottom of the flower and of the tube, which is changed into a roundish fruit, divided into four or more seminal cells, gaping at the top, and inclosing seeds, covered over and wrapped within that soft ductile wool, commonly known by the name of cotton. The species are,
   1. Hot or shrubby cotton.
   2. The most excellent American cotton, with a greenish seed.
   3. Annual shrubby cotton, of the island of Providence, with a large quinquefid vine-leaf.
   4. The tree cotton.
   5. Tree cotton with a yellow flower. The first sort is cultivated plentifully in Candia, Lemnos, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, and at Naples; as also between Jerusalem and Damascus, from whence the cotton is brought annually into these northern parts of Europe. It is sown upon tilled grounds in the spring of the year, and cut down and reaped in harvest, as corn with us. This cotton is the wool which incloses or wraps up the seeds, and is contained in a kind of brown husk or seed-vessel growing upon this shrub. It is from this sort that the vast quantities of cotton are taken, which furnish our parts of the world. It is brought from the islands, where the natives take great care of its culture. There are several sorts of cotton sold, which differ according to the countries from whence they come, and the various preparations made of them. The first is the cotton in the wool; that is, that which comes from the shell, from which only we take the seed: those come from Cyprus, Smyrna, &c. The second is the cotton in the yarn: the second and third sorts are also annual: these are cultivated in the West Indies in great plenty. But the fourth and fifth sorts grow in Egypt: these abide many years, and often arrive to be trees of great magnitude, from which the inhabitants are annually furnished with great quantities of cotton. One of these trees has a purplish and the other a yellow flower, which is the only difference between them. Philip Miller.

3. Cottonnoun

   Cloath or stuff made of cotton.

4. To Cottonverb

   1. To rise with a nap.2. To cement; to unite with: a cant word.

   A quarrel between you will end in one of you being turned off, in which case it will not be easy to cotton with another. Jonathan Swift, Directions to the Cook.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cotton

   Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable, and durable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated to the fifth millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley civilization, as well as fabric remnants dated back to 4200 BC in Peru. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today. Current estimates for world production are about 25 million tonnes or 110 million bales annually, accounting for 2.5% of the world's arable land. India is the world's largest producer of cotton. The United States has been the largest exporter for many years.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cottonnoun

   a soft, downy substance, resembling fine wool, consisting of the unicellular twisted hairs which grow on the seeds of the cotton plant. Long-staple cotton has a fiber sometimes almost two inches long; short-staple, from two thirds of an inch to an inch and a half

2. Cottonnoun

   the cotton plant. See Cotten plant, below

3. Cottonnoun

   cloth made of cotton

4. Cottonverb

   to rise with a regular nap, as cloth does

5. Cottonverb

   to go on prosperously; to succeed

6. Cottonverb

   to unite; to agree; to make friends; -- usually followed by with

7. Cottonverb

   to take a liking to; to stick to one as cotton; -- used with to

8. Etymology: [F. coton, Sp. algodon the cotton plant and its wool, coton printed cotton, cloth, fr. Ar. qutun, alqutun, cotton wool. Cf. Acton, Hacqueton.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cotton

   Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under natural condition, the cotton balls will tend to increase the dispersion of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The English name derives from the Arabic qutn قُطْن, which began to be used circa 1400 CE. The Spanish word, "algodón", is likewise derived from the Arabic. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated from 5000 BCE have been excavated in Mexico and the Indus Valley Civilization. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that so lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cotton

   kot′n, n. a soft substance like fine wool, got from the pods of the cotton-plant: cloth made of cotton.—adj. made of cotton.—v.t. to provide with cotton.—v.i. to agree: to be attached to (the connection of the intransitive meanings is unknown).—ns. Cottonade′, a name given to an inferior kind of cotton cloth; Cott′on-gin, a machine for separating the seeds from the fibre of cotton; Cott′on-grass, a genus of Cyperaceæ in which the perigone or covering of united bracts, which in this order enclose the ripening ovary, is developed into long, silky, or cottony hairs; Cottonoc′racy, the cotton planting or the cotton manufacturing interest; Cott′on-plant, one of various plants of the genus Gossypium, natural order Malvaceæ, yielding the textile substance cotton; Cott′on-press, a press for compressing cotton into bales; Cott′on-seed, the seed of the cotton-plant, yielding a valuable oil; Cott′on-spin′ner, one who spins cotton, or employs those who do; Cott′on-tail, the ordinary United States rabbit; Cott′on-this′tle, a strong thistle covered with a cottony down; Cott′on-tree, the American cotton-wood: the Indian Bombax malabaricum; Cott′on-weed, cudweed or everlasting; Cott′on-wood, any one of several American species of poplar; Cott′on-wool, cotton in its raw or woolly state.—adj. Cott′ony, like cotton: soft: downy. [Fr. coton—Ar. qutun.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cotton

   A type of cultivar, plant and seed.

   Cotton is grown in the fields and is used primarily as a plant to convert to a textile.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 19, 2020  

2. ---

   cotton

   A type of fiber and matter.

   Cotton is widely cultivated and used worldwide, it is a cash crop and a commodity and used for a variety of purposes.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 13, 2016  

Matched Categories

1. • Fabric
   • Like
   • Shrub

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'cotton' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4170

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'cotton' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4447

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'cotton' in Nouns Frequency: #1690

How to pronounce cotton?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say cotton in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of cotton in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of cotton in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of cotton in a Sentence

1. Tom Cliff:

   Cotton is intimately associated with land usage, ownership, employment and Han in-migration. It's all tied up.

2. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy:

   You've got to look after yourself, you're an athlete, you have a window of opportunity. It doesn't mean you've got to put yourself in cotton wool but some things you've just got to think twice about.

3. Raphael Warnock:

   Because this is America, the 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator.

4. Bill Hagerty:

   Tom Cotton of Arkansas've got senators like Mitt Romney, who, frankly, have lost their way.

5. Yacouba Koura:

   There's no worry. If the conventional cotton seeds are available, if the farmers are trained and there is quality fertilizer, then there's no problem.

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