cottage
cottage — noun
1. a small house in a rural area, often built with traditional materials like stone
a small house in a rural area, often built with traditional materials like stone or thatch
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
Nkechi's grandparents have lived in the same whitewashed cottage near the coast for forty years.
The cottage sat at the end of a narrow lane with sheep in the fields.
Rachel and Ziad converted an old stone barn into a cottage for their weekend trips.
- mansion
a very large, grand house
文法句型
a + cottage
cottage + noun (as modifier)
用法筆記
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
a small house in the countryside or by the coast that people rent for a short holiday
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.
Many cottages in this coastal village are let to tourists during July and August.
Ravindra and Elena booked a cottage in the Lake District for their honeymoon.
The cottage had a wood-burning stove and a small garden for guests to sit in.
- vacation home
American English term, often implies the owner uses it too
- holiday let
British English, specifically a rental property
- seaside bungalow
a single-storey coastal house
文法句型
a + cottage
cottage + noun (as modifier)
rent + a + cottage
用法筆記
In British English, 'holiday cottage' is a common fixed phrase. In American English, 'vacation cottage' or 'vacation rental' are more typical.
常見錯誤
3. an offensive slang term for a public toilet, especially one used by men who are
an offensive slang term for a public toilet, especially one used by men who are looking for sexual encounters with other men
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
Historians say men used the word 'cottage' as a code for public toilets in post-war London.
A retired London officer told a 1995 interviewer that 'cottage' meant public toilet near Victoria Station in arrest reports.
文法句型
used as a slang noun
用法筆記
⚠️ 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.