cotton to

verb

To like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.

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Meanings

verbcotton to (third-person singular simple present cottons to, present participle cottoning to, simple past and past participle cottoned to)

present singular third person cottons to · participle present cottoning to · participle past cottoned to · past cottoned to

  1. idiomaticTo like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.

    Her heart's as hard as taxes, and as bad; / She does not even cotton to her dad.

    1858, Andrew Halliday, Frederick Lawrence, Kenilworth
    1 more example

    “The fellow is an absolute outsider, anyone can see that. He’s got a great black beard, and wears patent leather boots in all weathers! But the mater cottoned to him at once, took him on as secretary—you know how she’s always running a hundred societies?”

    1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 7

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
cotton on to

Origin

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."

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish lubić, polubić
  • lubićto like; to approve of; to accept or tolerate
  • polubićto like; to approve of; to accept or tolerate
Cite this entry
APA

cotton to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cotton%20to

MLA

“cotton to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cotton%20to. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cotton to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cotton%20to.

Source: cotton to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.