cotton1/ˋkɑtṇ; ˈkɒtn/n [U]1 cloth or thread made from the cotton plant 棉布﹔棉线: a cotton shirt 一件棉布衬衫a reel of black cotton (=thread used for sewing)一卷黑色棉线2 a plant with white hairs used for making cotton cloth and thread 棉〔植物〕3 AmE a soft mass of cotton, used especially for cleaning your skin [ cotton wool BrE 【英】] 【美】药棉
cotton2v cotton on phr v informal to begin to understand something [ realize ] 【非正式】开始明白﹐领会: +to I soon cottoned on to what he was doing. 我不久就开始明白他在做什么了。