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 academics—
Wendy Kaminer
Wendy KaminerExamples of cottage industry in a Sentence
weaving, pottery, and other cottage industries
Recent Examples on the Web
The liability law has created a cottage industry where lawsuits and settlements are almost automatic.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2025
Thinking this through involves a lot of conversation and sometimes a cottage industry of coaches, mediators, and lawyers.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2025
Since then, cooling atoms and trapping them has become a cottage industry, giving rise to optical atomic clocks, atomic navigation systems, and neutral-atom quantum computers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2025
The sordid history of Oklahoma’s second-largest city has become a kind of cottage industry for Hollywood in recent years.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cottage industry
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Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Oct. 2025
Thinking this through involves a lot of conversation and sometimes a cottage industry of coaches, mediators, and lawyers.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2025
Since then, cooling atoms and trapping them has become a cottage industry, giving rise to optical atomic clocks, atomic navigation systems, and neutral-atom quantum computers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2025
The sordid history of Oklahoma’s second-largest city has become a kind of cottage industry for Hollywood in recent years.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cottage industry
Cite this Entry
“Cottage industry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cottage%20industry. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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