Link Centre Dictionary

cuddle

UK/ˈkʌd.l̩/ US/ˈkʌdʌl/ fairly common uk us
verb (2) noun (1)

verb

1.

move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position

  • “We cuddled against each other to keep warm”
  • “The children snuggled into their sleeping bags”
Synonyms
2.

hold (a person or thing) close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth

  • “I cuddled the baby”

noun

1.

Origin

Origin uncertain, but probably from a frequentative form of Middle English *cudden, cuththen, keththen (“to embrace”), a variant of cuthen, kuthen, kithen (“to be familiar with, make known”), from Middle English cuth, couth (“known, familiar”), equivalent to couth + -le. Cognate with Middle Dutch kudden (“to come together, flock together”). More at couth.

Phrases

  • cuddle buddy
  • cuddle bug
  • cuddle bunny
  • cuddle puddle
  • cuddle up

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.