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
Meanwhile, a cottage industry of cell phone storage crept up at businesses near schools, costing families.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 June 2024
Popular on Variety Though Hollywood’s impressive cottage industry of creative boutiques that craft film and TV marketing campaigns don’t typically cast a big shadow at the Lions, advertising in every industry competes for these awards.
—Robert Marich, Variety, 17 June 2024
Computer technology has destroyed what used to be a very lucrative cottage industry.
—Letters To The Editor, Orange County Register, 17 June 2024
The organizer of the groundswell to save the bakery was small business owner and nurse Danielle Bender, who has been ordering all her cakes from Erika Landi for 12 years — since way back when Landi baked at home with a cottage industry license.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cottage industry 
Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 26 June 2024
Popular on Variety Though Hollywood’s impressive cottage industry of creative boutiques that craft film and TV marketing campaigns don’t typically cast a big shadow at the Lions, advertising in every industry competes for these awards.
—Robert Marich, Variety, 17 June 2024
Computer technology has destroyed what used to be a very lucrative cottage industry.
—Letters To The Editor, Orange County Register, 17 June 2024
The organizer of the groundswell to save the bakery was small business owner and nurse Danielle Bender, who has been ordering all her cakes from Erika Landi for 12 years — since way back when Landi baked at home with a cottage industry license.
—Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 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.
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 7 Jul. 2024.
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