cottage industry

noun

: an industry whose labor force consists of family units or individuals working at home with their own equipment

: a small and often informally organized industry

: a limited but enthusiastically pursued activity or subject

this debate about sex and law became a cottage industry for feminist academics—

Wendy Kaminer

Examples of cottage industry in a Sentence

weaving, pottery, and other cottage industries

Recent Examples on the Web In addition to the sharp rise in telehealth providers offering compounded products, there’s also a wild cottage industry of outright Ozempic counterfeits, as Vanity Fair detailed last month. —

Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 12 July 2024 Lawrence herself is a superfan of the Bravo universe, which has spawned a cottage industry out of middle-aged women behaving badly (and the people who love/hate them). —

Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 21 June 2024 Today, there is a veritable cottage industry for them. —

Peter Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 15 Sep. 2013 An end to the shortage would require some substantial pivots within this booming cottage industry. —

Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 12 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for cottage industry

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cottage industry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cottage industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cottage%20industry. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.

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