Definition

1. Noun:
   • The seed of the cotton plant: A cottonseed is the mature seed produced by the cotton plant (Gossypium species). It is a byproduct of cotton fiber production.
   • A source of cottonseed oil and meal: The seed is a significant agricultural commodity, primarily valued for being crushed to extract cottonseed oil and for the resulting protein-rich cake or meal used as animal feed.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • After the cotton is ginned, the remaining cottonseed is processed.
  • Cottonseed oil is commonly used in cooking and food manufacturing.
  • The farmer sold the harvested cottonseed to a processing plant.

Advanced Usage

• "Cottonseed hulls": The hard outer coating of the cottonseed, often used as roughage in livestock feed or as a soil amendment.

  • The cattle were fed a mixture of grains and cottonseed hulls.

• "Delinted cottonseed": Cottonseed that has had the short, fuzzy fibers (linters) removed, often used for planting or for specific industrial processes.

  • Delinted cottonseed is preferred for mechanical planting.

Variants and Related Words

• Cottonseed oil (n): A vegetable oil extracted from cottonseeds, used in cooking, margarine, and soap.

  • The recipe calls for cottonseed oil for frying.

• Cottonseed meal (n): The protein-rich material left after oil is extracted from cottonseeds, used as fertilizer and livestock feed.

  • Cottonseed meal is an excellent organic nitrogen source for gardens.

Synonyms

• Seed of cotton: (Descriptive synonym)
• Gossypium seed: (Botanical term)

Related Phrases

• To crush cottonseed: The industrial process of pressing seeds to extract oil.
  • The mill was built to crush cottonseed efficiently.

Related Idioms

(This word is a specific noun and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions.)

Noun

1. seed of cotton plants; source of cottonseed oil