Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cotton to

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.35 in modern English

Syllables
cot-ton -to
IPA
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.

Example Sentences

Etymology

According to Michael Quinion of World Wide Words, "It has plausibly been suggested it came from the use of mixtures of cotton and other fibres in clothing. In the early 1800s, to cotton to somebody implied that you were drawn or attached to that person. It may be that the idea here is how well a thread of cotton sticks to the surface of cloth."

Inflected Forms

cottons to (present, singular) cottoning to (participle, present) cottoned to (participle, past) cottoned to (past)

Phrases

cotton on

Frequently Paired Words

cotton on

Questions

What does cotton to mean?
To like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.
Where does cotton to come from?
According to Michael Quinion of World Wide Words, "It has plausibly been suggested it came from the use of mixtures of cotton and other fibres in clothing. In the early 1800s, to cotton to somebody implied that you were drawn or attached to that person. It may be that the idea here is how well a thread of cotton sticks to the surface of cloth."

How to pronounce cotton to

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cotton to”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cotton to”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cotton to” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.