cotton

UK: /ˈkɒt^ən/ US: /ˈkɑtən/ ,(kot′n)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cot•ton /ˈkɑtən/   n. 

1. Botany [uncountable] a soft, white substance made up of the fibers of the seeds of plants of the mallow family, used in making fabrics.
2. Plant Biology [uncountable] the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.
3. Plant Biology [uncountable] such plants as a group and as a cultivated crop.
4. Textiles cloth, thread, etc., made of cotton:
   [uncountable] The sheets were 100% cotton.
5. Botany clothes made of cotton:
   [countable* usually plural] Wash the cottons separately.

v. 

6. cotton to or on to, [~ + to/on to + object] Informal.
   • to become fond of;
     begin to like:
     The baby cottoned on to me immediately.
   • to approve of;
     agree with:
     to cotton to a suggestion.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cot•ton  (kot′n), n. 

1. Botany a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mallow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc.
2. Plant Biology the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.
3. Plant Biology such plants collectively as a cultivated crop.
4. Textiles cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton.
5. Botany any soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants.

v.i. 

6. Informal Terms to get on well together;
   agree.
7. [Obs.] to prosper or succeed.
8. cotton to or on to, [Informal.]
   • to become fond of;
     begin to like.
   • to approve of;
     agree with:
     to cotton to a suggestion.
   • to come to a full understanding of;
     grasp:
     More and more firms are cottoning on to the advantages of using computers.

• Arabic qutun, variant of qutn
• Old Italian cotone
• Old French
• Middle English coton 1250–1300

Cot•ton  (kot′n), n. 

1. Biographical John, 1584–1652, U.S. clergyman, colonist, and author (grandfather of Cotton Mather).

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cotton / ˈkɒt^ən/ noun

1. any of various herbaceous plants and shrubs of the malvaceous genus Gossypium, such as sea-island cotton, cultivated in warm climates for the fibre surrounding the seeds and the oil within the seeds
   See also sea-island cotton
2. the soft white downy fibre of these plants: used to manufacture textiles
3. cotton plants collectively, as a cultivated crop
4. a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French coton, from Arabic dialect qutun, from Arabic qutn

ˈcottony adjective

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Cotton / ˈkɒt^ən/ noun

1. Sir Henry. 1907–87, English golfer: three times winner of the British Open (1934, 1937, 1948)