cottage

cottage — noun

1. a small house in a rural area, often built with traditional materials like stone

1.nounA2
Definition

a small house in a rural area, often built with traditional materials like stone or thatch

Example

Quan and Sahil bought a small stone cottage in a Cornish village after they retired.

stone cottage + village — typical location and materials

The old cottage had a thatched roof and a garden full of lavender and roses.

thatched roof, cottage garden — common associations

Common collocations
  • thatched cottage
  • stone cottage
  • country cottage
  • picturesque cottage
  • cottage garden
  • cottage industry
Synonyms
  • cabin

    smaller and more rustic, usually made of logs or wood in a forest or mountain setting

  • hut

    more basic and temporary — a hut can be made of mud, grass, or corrugated iron

  • lodge

    larger and more solidly built, often in a wilderness area used for hunting or skiing

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a + cottage

cottage + noun (as modifier)

Usage Note

Often used in compound nouns like 'cottage garden', 'cottage kitchen', and 'cottage loaf' to describe a traditional rural style.

2. a small house in the countryside or by the coast that people rent for a short ho

2.nounB1
Definition

a small house in the countryside or by the coast that people rent for a short holiday

Example

The Watanabe family rented a holiday cottage in Cornwall for the summer break.

holiday cottage — sense-2 collocation

Apinya found a cosy seaside cottage with a balcony overlooking the harbour.

Common collocations
  • holiday cottage
  • rental cottage
  • seaside cottage
  • cottage by the sea
  • book a cottage
  • self-catering cottage
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

a + cottage

cottage + noun (as modifier)

rent + a + cottage

Usage Note

In British English, 'holiday cottage' is a common fixed phrase. In American English, 'vacation cottage' or 'vacation rental' are more typical.

Common Mistakes

We stayed in a cottage hotel by the beach.
We stayed in a cottage by the beach.
'cottage' already means a type of house; adding 'hotel' is redundant and incorrect.

3. an offensive slang term for a public toilet, especially one used by men who are

3.nounC2
Definition

an offensive slang term for a public toilet, especially one used by men who are looking for sexual encounters with other men

Example

In older crime novels, the word 'cottage' refers to a public lavatory used for sexual encounters.

literary/historical context — word itself, not active use

The documentary explained how the slang term 'cottage' became a coded reference in 20th-century London.

slang term as subject of explanation

Grammar Patterns

used as a slang noun

Usage Note

⚠️ STRONGLY OFFENSIVE. This sense is derogatory slang. Do NOT use in everyday conversation. Learners should recognise it when reading older British fiction or crime reports, but should never use it themselves. The verb 'cottaging' also exists.

Common Mistakes

I need to find a cottage' (meaning a public toilet — highly embarrassing and offensive).
I need to find a toilet / restroom.
using 'cottage' in public to mean a toilet will cause serious offence or confusion.

Word family

  • cottager
    nounC2
  • cottaging
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words describe types of dwellings, but they differ in size, materials, location, and formality. A 'cottage' is a small rural house, often built of stone or brick with a thatched or tiled roof — associated with the English countryside. A 'cabin' is usually made of wood and found in forests or mountains (a log cabin). A 'hut' is the most basic — a small, roughly built shelter of mud, grass, or corrugated iron, used temporarily. A 'lodge' is larger and more substantial, often in a remote area for hunting, skiing, or safari stays. A 'villa' is a large, luxurious house, often in a warm coastal region, with gardens and sometimes a pool. For example: 'They rented a stone cottage in the Cotswolds' versus 'They stayed in a log cabin in the Rocky Mountains' versus 'The workers built a mud hut for shelter' versus 'We booked a safari lodge in Kenya' versus 'They own a villa on the Amalfi Coast.'

cabin ↗hut ↗lodge ↗villa ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cottage roof
  • cottage door
  • cottage window
  • cottage garden
  • cottage kitchen

Phrases

  • holiday cottage
  • rental cottage
  • thatched cottage
  • country cottage
  • stone cottage
  • cottage industry
  • cottage cheese

Prepositions

  • in a cottage
  • at a cottage
  • cottage by the sea
  • cottage on the coast
  • cottage in the country

Etymology

Old EnglishAnglo-Norman FrenchEnglish

The word 'cottage' entered English from Anglo-Norman French 'cotage', itself built on the Old English word 'cot' (a small dwelling or shelter). In medieval England, a cottage was the home of a peasant farmer or labourer. The modern romantic image of a cosy country cottage emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries.