cottage industry

noun

1
: an industry whose labor force consists of family units or individuals working at home with their own equipment
2
: a small and often informally organized industry
3
: a limited but enthusiastically pursued activity or subject
this debate about sex and law became a cottage industry for feminist academicsWendy Kaminer

Examples of cottage industry in a Sentence

weaving, pottery, and other cottage industries
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Photograph: Getty Images Tales of flights filled with service peacocks, service rabbits, service monkeys, service turkeys, and service iguanas have become an internet cottage industry. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 22 Jan. 2020 Add to the mix a hyper-competitive media landscape and now in 2024 a cottage industry of pollsters, pundits and even gamblers who seek to give each side - and nervous undecided voters - a preview of what will happen. Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), directed by John Madden This breakout British domestic hit spawned not only a sequel but possibly an entire cottage industry of golden-oldie AARP feel-good hits. Christina Newland, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2024 Amid the cottage industry of fretting over fickle moderates and outré conservatives of color (Cubans in Miami, Byron Donalds and Clarence Thomas, et al.), Asian Americans can fall by the wayside. Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cottage industry 

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cottage industry was in 1849

Dictionary Entries Near cottage industry

Cite this Entry

“Cottage industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cottage%20industry. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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