Cradle definition | Dictionary.com

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Synonyms of Cradle

infancy, matrix, bassinet, bed, cot, crib, cuddle, hug, lull, nestle, nourish, nursery

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9 dictionary results for: Cradle

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cra·dle

[kreyd-l] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -dled, -dling.

–noun

1.	a small bed for an infant, usually on rockers.

2.	any of various supports for objects set horizontally, as the support for the handset of a telephone.

3.	the place where anything is nurtured during its early existence: Boston was the cradle of the American Revolution.

Agriculture.

a.	a frame of wood with a row of long curved teeth projecting above and parallel to a scythe, for laying grain in bunches as it is cut.

b.	a scythe together with the cradle in which it is set.

5.	a wire or wicker basket used to hold a wine bottle in a more or less horizontal position while the wine is being served.

6.	Artillery. the part of a gun carriage on which a recoiling gun slides.

7.	a landing platform for ferryboats, rolling on inclined tracks to facilitate loading and unloading at different water levels.

8.	Aeronautics. a docklike structure in which a rigid or semirigid airship is built or is supported during inflation.

9.	Automotive. creeper (def. 5).

10.

Nautical.

a.	a shaped support for a boat, cast, etc.; chock.

b.	truss (def. 9).

11.

Shipbuilding.

a.	a moving framework on which a hull slides down the ways when launched.

b.	a built-up form on which plates of irregular form are shaped.

12.	Medicine/Medical. a frame that prevents the bedclothes from touching an injured part of a bedridden patient.

13.	Mining. a box on rockers for washing sand or gravel to separate gold or other heavy metal.

14.	an engraver's tool for laying mezzotint grounds.

15.	Painting. a structure of wooden strips attached to the back of a panel, used as a support and to prevent warping.

–verb (used with object)

16.	to hold gently or protectively.

17.	to place or rock in or as in an infant's cradle.

18.	to nurture during infancy.

19.	to receive or hold as a cradle.

20.	to cut (grain) with a cradle.

21.	to place (a vessel) on a cradle.

22.	Mining. to wash (sand or gravel) in a cradle; rock.

23.	Painting. to support (a panel) with a cradle.

–verb (used without object)

24.	to lie in or as if in a cradle.

25.	to cut grain with a cradle scythe.

—Idiom

26.	rob the cradle, Informal. to marry, court, or date a person much younger than oneself.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME cradel, OE cradol; akin to OHG cratto basket

]

—Related forms

cradler, noun

—Synonyms 3. birthplace, fountain, font, wellspring.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Requirments Simulation
Rapid Requirements Development Automate Test Documentation
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cra·dle (krād'l) Pronunciation Key
n.

A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.
1. The earliest period of life: had an interest in music almost from the cradle.
2. A place of origin; a birthplace: the cradle of civilization.
3. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair.
4. A framework used to protect an injured limb.
5. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat.
6. A scythe equipped with such a frame.
1. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair.
2. A framework used to protect an injured limb.
3. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat.
4. A scythe equipped with such a frame.
A low flat framework that rolls on casters, used by a mechanic working beneath an automobile. Also called creeper.
The part of a telephone that contains the connecting switch upon which the receiver and mouthpiece unit is supported.
1. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat.
2. A scythe equipped with such a frame.
A boxlike device furnished with rockers, used for washing gold-bearing dirt.

v. cra·dled, cra·dling, cra·dles

v. tr.

1. To place or retain in or as if in a cradle.
2. To care for or nurture in infancy.
3. To hold or support protectively: cradled the cat in his arms.
To reap (grain) with a cradle.
To place or support (a ship, for example) in a cradle.
To wash (gold-bearing dirt) in a cradle.

v. intr. Obsolete
To lie in or as if in a cradle.

[Middle English cradel, from Old English.]

cra'dler n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cradle

O.E. cradol "little bed," from P.Gmc. *kradulas "basket." Cat's cradle is from 1768. Cradle-snatching "amorous pursuit of younger person" is 1925, U.S. slang.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

cradle
noun
1.	a baby bed with sides and rockers
2.	where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence; "the birthplace of civilization" [syn: birthplace]
3.	birth of a person; "he was taught from the cradle never to cry"
4.	a trough that can be rocked back and forth; used by gold miners to shake auriferous earth in water in order to separate the gold [syn: rocker]
verb
1.	hold gently and carefully; "He cradles the child in his arms"
2.	bring up from infancy
3.	hold or place in or as if in a cradle; "He cradled the infant in his arms"
4.	cut grain with a cradle scythe
5.	wash in a cradle; "cradle gold"
6.	run with the stick

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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

cradle

see from the cradle to the grave; rob the cradle.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cradle cra·dle (krād'l)
n.

A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.
A frame used to keep the bedclothes from pressing on an injured part.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cradle

Cra"dle\ (kr[=a]d'l), n. [AS. cradel, cradol, prob. from Celtic; cf. Gael. creathall, Ir. craidhal, W. cryd a shaking or rocking, a cradle; perh. akin to E. crate.]

1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of liberty.

The cradle that received thee at thy birth. --Cowper.

No sooner was I crept out of my cradle But I was made a king, at nine months old. --Shak.

2. Infancy, or very early life.

From their cradles bred together. --Shak.

A form of worship in which they had been educated from their cradles. --Clarendon.

3. (Agric.) An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.

4. (Engraving) A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so preparing the ground.

5. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.

6. (Med.) (a) A case for a broken or dislocated limb. (b) A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the person.

7. (Mining) (a) A machine on rockers, used in washing out auriferous earth; -- also called a rocker. [U.S.] (b) A suspended scaffold used in shafts.

8. (Carp.) The ribbing for vaulted ceilings and arches intended to be covered with plaster. --Knight.

9. (Naut.) The basket or apparatus in which, when a line has been made fast to a wrecked ship from the shore, the people are brought off from the wreck.

Cat's cradle. See under Cat.

Cradle hole, a sunken place in a road, caused by thawing, or by travel over a soft spot.

Cradle scythe, a broad scythe used in a cradle for cutting grain.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Cradle

Cra"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cradled (-d'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Cradling (-dl?ng).]

1. To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle; to lull or quiet, as by rocking.

It cradles their fears to sleep. --D. A. Clark.

2. To nurse or train in infancy.

He that hath been cradled in majesty will not leave the throne to play with beggars. --Glanvill.

3. To cut and lay with a cradle, as grain.