cuddle
pronunciation
How to pronounce cuddle in British English:
UK [ ˈkʌdl]
How to pronounce cuddle in American English:
US [ ˈkʌdl]
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- Noun:
- a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace
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- Verb:
- move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position
- hold (a person or thing) close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth
Word Origin
- cuddle (v.)
- early 16c. (implied in cudlyng), perhaps a variant or frequentative form of obsolete cull, coll "to embrace" (see collar (n.)); or perhaps from Middle English *couthelen, from couth "known," hence "comfortable with." It has a spotty early history and seems to have been a nursery word at first. Related: Cuddled; cuddling.
Example
- 1. You suspect the comfort might have slipped beyond the cuddle .
- 2. And we 're just going to wrap her up and give her a lovely cuddle .
- 3. People like to fix late night sandwiches , cuddle , talk about the future , take a shower .
- 4. Mothers of babies aged eight to 16 weeks are being given the ' cuddle hormone ' oxytocin in a clinical trial .
- 5. I have to remind them , and even myself sometimes , that my son will never be too big for a cuddle or a telling-off .