cotton Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
cotton wool; cotton fiber.
noun fabric woven from cotton fibers
noun erect bushy mallow plant or small tree bearing bolls containing seeds with many long hairy fibers
cotton plant.
noun thread made of cotton fibers
verb take a liking to
- cotton to something

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

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.
The cotton plant. See Cotten plant, below.
Cloth made of cotton. ✍ Cotton is used as an adjective before many nouns in a sense which commonly needs no explanation; as, cottton bagging; cotton clotch; cotton goods; cotton industry; cotton mill; cotton spinning; cotton tick.

To rise with a regular nap, as cloth does. Obs.
It cottons well; it can not choose but bear A pretty nap. Family of Love.
To go on prosperously; to succeed. Obs.
New, Hephestion, does not this matter cotton as I would? Lyly.
To unite; to agree; to make friends; -- usually followed by with. Colloq.
A quarrel will end in one of you being turned off, in which case it will not be easy to cotton with another. Swift.

Didst see, Frank, how the old goldsmith cottoned in with his beggarly companion? Sir W. Scott.
To take a liking to; to stick to one as cotton; -- used with to. Slang