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

Examples of cottage industry in a Sentence

weaving, pottery, and other cottage industries

Recent Examples on the Web

The cruelty bred other cruelties, like the cottage industry of hustlers that emerged to take advantage of parents’ desperation. —Matthieu Aikins Bryan Denton, New York Times, 22 May 2024

Like a cottage industry around fashion’s biggest night, a number of late-night soirées pop up around New York City every first Monday in May—or, technically every first early Tuesday morning. —Elise Taylor, Vogue, 7 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1