Meaning & use
cottage
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small, simple house, especially in the countryside or near the coast.
Grammar: Countable: a cottage, two cottages. Often used with 'little' or 'country.'
Patterns
- a country cottage
- a little cottage
- live in a cottage
- a cottage by the sea
They rented a small cottage in the hills for the summer.
Her grandmother lives in a white cottage by the sea.
We spent the weekend in a cozy cottage in the countryside.
nouncountable
A small house or cabin used for a particular purpose, such as a vacation home or a hospital building.
Grammar: Countable; the purpose is usually shown by the word before it, as in 'holiday cottage' or 'hospital cottage.'
Patterns
- a holiday cottage
- a vacation cottage
- a hospital cottage
They booked a holiday cottage near the lake.
The hospital has several cottages for patients who need long-term care.
Word forms
| plural | cottages |
|---|
Common combinations
- a country cottage
- They bought a country cottage with a large garden.
- a holiday cottage
- We stayed in a holiday cottage in the mountains.
- a cottage industry
- Basket weaving began as a cottage industry in the village.
- a cottage garden
- Her cottage garden was full of roses and wildflowers.
- a thatched cottage
- The village is famous for its thatched cottages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cabin
- A small wooden house, often in the woods or mountains; cabin suggests rougher, more rustic building than cottage.
- lodge
- A small house used for holidays or by hunters; lodge is often larger and more specific in purpose.
- bungalow
- A small house with one floor; bungalow says nothing about being old or in the countryside.
- house
- The general word for any home; cottage is smaller and suggests a quaint, rural style.
Opposites
Word family
- cottager noun
- A person who lives in a cottage, especially in a rural area.
- cottagey adjective
- Informal and rare; describes something that looks like a cottage, often with pretty, old-fashioned features.
Commonly confused: cottage or cabbage? cottage or college?
cottage vs cabbage
A vegetable; it sounds a little like 'cottage' but is completely different in meaning.
cottage vs college
A school or university; similar in sound to 'cottage' but not related in meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cottage' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Cottage' is a countable noun for a small house, so it fits after 'a small' in a sentence about staying somewhere. The other options use it as a verb or describe it in a way that does not match its meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cottage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.