From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcottoncot‧ton1 /ˈkɒtn $ ˈkɑːtn/ ●●● W3 noun [uncountable] 1 TIMcloth or thread made from the white hair of the cotton plant a white cotton shirt Made from 100% cotton.2 HBPa plant with white hairs on its seeds that are used for making cotton cloth and thread3 British EnglishDLH thread used for sewing a needle and cotton a cotton reel (=small round tube which cotton thread is wound around)4 American English cotton woolCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesthin/light cottona thin cotton dressfine cotton (=thin and good quality)For summer, fine cotton is more comfortable.pure cotton (=not mixed with any other materials)shirts made from pure cottonraw cotton (=natural, and not prepared for use)They imported raw cotton from America.50%/100 per cent etc cottonThese lightweight trousers are made from 100% cotton.cotton + NOUNa cotton shirt/dress/jacket etcEgyptian cotton sheets are very expensive here.cotton cloth/fabriccotton cloth from Indiacotton thread (=long thin cotton string that you use for sewing)I need some dark blue cotton thread.the cotton industry/tradeThe cotton industry began to boom in the 1780s.a cotton field/farmer/plantation etcTexas produced half of the US cotton crop.a cotton mill (=factory where cotton is made into thread or cloth)verbsbe made of/from cottonThe fabric is made of cotton or wool.
Examples from the Corpus
cotton• The towels are 100% cotton.• In addition, water-intensive crops such as rice should be abandoned in favour of wheat and cotton.• The photographs of black cotton pickers, including young children, are reminders of the harsh reality underlying the glory.• And it was for cotton that the first real factories came into being.• fields of cotton and corn• You're like a sea of cotton wool.• We were five miles out of Sabinal in the cotton fields and grape vineyards.• This enabled Whessoe to stamp its by now ubiquitously accepted name on the conduit that supplied vital water to the cotton city.• A white cotton Mondrian laundry bag will set a guest back $ 60.cottoncotton2 verb → cotton on → cotton to somebody/something→ See Verb tableOrigin cotton1 (1300-1400) Old French coton, from Arabic qutn cotton2 (1800-1900) cotton “to be successful” ((16-19 centuries)), perhaps from cotton (of cloth) “to form a soft surface” ((15-19 centuries)), from → COTTON1 