cotter UK /kɒtə/US /kɑtɚ/noun 3verb 1forms 3 noun3 •A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together.The chains are secured to each end of the cast-iron arches by cotters. — 1949 •(informal) A cotter pin. •(historical) A peasant who performed labour in exchange for the right to live in a cottage.The toil-worn Cotter frae his labour goes,— / This night his weekly moil is at an end,— / Collects his spades, his mattocks, and his hoes, […] — 1786 verb1 •To fasten with a cotter.She found Esco by the barn. He was trying to cotter a cart-wheel with a peg he had whittled from a locust branch, driving it in with a hand sledge — 1997 formscottered · cottering · cotters
