Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

coddle

[kod-l]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used with object), -dled, -dling.

to treat tenderly; nurse or tend indulgently; pamper: to coddle children when they're sick.

to cook (eggs, fruit, etc.) in water that is just below the boiling point; cook gently.

Origin:
1590–1600; variant of caudle, v. use of caudle

Related forms

cod·dler, noun

un·cod·dled, adjective

Synonyms
1. indulge, baby, humor, spoil.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To coddle

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Coddle is one of our favorite verbs.

So is kibitz. Does it mean:

chat, to converse

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Example Sentences

They rush out to buy the plant, take it home and coddle it in a toasty living room.

We need students to learn that it is their responsibility to get their education and no one is going to coddle them.

Companies, and the investment banks that coddle them, distribute information to favoured investors but not to the market at large.

EXPAND

They rush out to buy the plant, take it home and coddle it in a toasty living room.

We need students to learn that it is their responsibility to get their education and no one is going to coddle them.

Companies, and the investment banks that coddle them, distribute information to favoured investors but not to the market at large.

But dads are programmed to challenge their kids, not coddle them.

Originally created to coddle these local monopolies, they've now become a hazard to their existence.

The staff will coddle you and murmur approvingly as you order.

Instead of shooting the little self-controlless maggots, let's coddle them and hope our perfidy doesn't cause worse problems.

SA is not likely to coddle the religious in its writings.

All of this novelty carries risks for a society that has tended to coddle its subscribers, and some discontent has been evident.

They are unhappy because the work world will not coddle them the way mom and dad did.

How to coddle high rollers, from getting tickets to packing bags15.

If the owner does not intervene electronically to coddle it or clean up its messes, the creature dies.

Another way taxpayers coddle the biggest banks is by implicitly guaranteeing their derivatives business.

And not coincidentally, there will then be a market for its seeds, and all the chemicals needed to coddle the crop.

To torment your body, he discovered, is really to value it every bit as much as you do when you coddle it.

Coddle those clean feet, and get a new medicine cabinet too.

Of additional help is to comfort and coddle the victim, and ignore the biter.

Some aficionados use raw eggs and others coddle the eggs.

The interior is lined with plush fabric to coddle your new device, and its curves are matched by the carved case corners.

Tourondel developed a reputation for his touch with fish, for knowing how to coddle and exalt it.

Whatever you do, do not coddle his disfunctional approach to graduate school.

It is no secret that many mamas tend to coddle their boys for much too long.

Simon's irresistible need to coddle the audience with regular punch.

Gradually each fresh-cut company had to retrofit or build from scratch a kinder network of apparatuses to coddle the apple:.

Bustillo smiles her small amused smiles and does not coddle gloom.

Continued to coddle the banks and ignore the folks who are paying for this debacle.

Too many theories of child development today patronize and coddle children.

And that is what you get when you coddle the kids and build up their self esteem.

He was correct that you have to chop a viper's head off to stop it, not coddle it.

Unions fail to promote the best, and instead coddle and protect the worst.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

coddle (ˈkɒd^əl)

—vb
1.	to treat with indulgence
2.	to cook (something, esp eggs) in water just below the boiling point

—n
3.	dialect (Irish) stew made from ham and bacon scraps

[C16: of obscure origin; perhaps related to caudle]

'coddler

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

coddle

c.1600, "boil gently," probably from caudle "warm drink for invalids," from Anglo-Fr. caudel (c.1300), ult. from L. calidium "warm drink," neut. of calidus "hot," from calere "be warm" (see calorie). Verb meaning "treat tenderly" first recorded 1815 (in Jane Austen's "Emma").

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for coddle?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Related Words

mollycoddle baby

cosset massage

Quote Of The Day

"I think it's one of the scars in our culture that we have too high an opinion of ourselves. We align ourselves with the angels instead of the higher primates."

-Angela Carter

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help