cotton to
To like; approve of, accept, or tolerate.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I did not cotton to his rude attitude at all.”
“I think you will cotton to this new hobby once you try it.”
“The team did not immediately cotton to the new manager, but they grew to respect her over time.”
“My cat does not usually cotton to strangers, but she sat on the visitor's lap and stayed there all evening.”
“Although the critics were initially skeptical, they eventually began to cotton to the director's unconventional and experimental style of filmmaking.”
disputed origin
According to Michael Quinion of World Wide Words, the origin of the phrase is uncertain, though a plausible suggestion links it to the behaviour of textile fibres. The expression may stem from the tendency of a stray cotton thread to adhere to the surface of a garment.
In the early 1800s, to cotton to another person implied an attachment or a drawing together, mimicking the way cotton and other fibres were integrated into clothing mixtures. The persistence with which a thread clings to cloth provided the metaphor for a social or personal affinity.
Last updated August 10, 2026