cotton to
To like; approve of, accept, or tolerateTo like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.
» Tom's just cottoned on to the fact he's single now.
Том лише зараз усвідомив той факт, що він тепер без пари.
Meaning
1 senses(idiomatic)To like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.
Examples
8 sentencesTom's just cottoned on to the fact he's single now.
Том лише зараз усвідомив той факт, що він тепер без пари. — deniko
It took him ages to cotton on to the joke.
ruШутка доходила до него как до жирафа. — marafon
I quite cottoned on to that man.
deIch habe den Mann voll und ganz verstanden. — Tamy
Tom used a cotton swab to clean his ear.
ruТом прочистил ухо ватной палочкой. — Wezel
There was a glut of cotton goods due to cheap imports.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
According to Michael Quinion of World Wide Words, "It has plausibly been suggested it cameAccording 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."
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
cottons to, cottoning to, cottoned to, cottoned to| Base form | cotton to · to cotton to |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | cottons to |
| Present participle | cottoning to |
| Past simple | cottoned to |
| Past participle | cottoned to |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle