cradle
a small bed for an infant, usually on rockers.
any of various supports for objects set horizontally, as the support for the handset of a telephone.
the place where anything is nurtured during its early existence: Boston was the cradle of the American Revolution.
Agriculture.
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.
a scythe together with the cradle in which it is set.
a wire or wicker basket used to hold a wine bottle in a more or less horizontal position while the wine is being served.
Artillery. the part of a gun carriage on which a recoiling gun slides.
a landing platform for ferryboats, rolling on inclined tracks to facilitate loading and unloading at different water levels.
Aeronautics. a docklike structure in which a rigid or semirigid airship is built or is supported during inflation.
Automotive. creeper (def. 6).
Nautical.
a shaped support for a boat, cast, etc.; chock.
Shipbuilding.
a moving framework on which a hull slides down the ways when launched.
a built-up form on which plates of irregular form are shaped.
Medicine/Medical. a frame that prevents the bedclothes from touching an injured part of a bedridden patient.
Mining. a box on rockers for washing sand or gravel to separate gold or other heavy metal.
an engraver's tool for laying mezzotint grounds.
Painting. a structure of wooden strips attached to the back of a panel, used as a support and to prevent warping.
to hold gently or protectively.
to place or rock in or as in an infant's cradle.
to nurture during infancy.
to receive or hold as a cradle.
to cut (grain) with a cradle.
to place (a vessel) on a cradle.
Mining. to wash (sand or gravel) in a cradle; rock.
Painting. to support (a panel) with a cradle.
to lie in or as if in a cradle.
to cut grain with a cradle scythe.
Idioms about cradle
rob the cradle, Informal. to marry, court, or date a person much younger than oneself.
Origin of cradle
1Other words for cradle
Other words from cradle
- cradler, noun
- un·cra·dled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for cradle
/ (ˈkreɪdəl) /
a baby's bed with enclosed sides, often with a hood and rockers
a place where something originates or is nurtured during its early life: the cradle of civilization
the earliest period of life: they knew each other from the cradle
a frame, rest, or trolley made to support or transport a piece of equipment, aircraft, ship, etc
a platform, cage, or trolley, in which workmen are suspended on the side of a building or ship
the part of a telephone on which the handset rests when not in use
a holder connected to a computer allowing data to be transferred from a PDA, digital camera, etc
another name for creeper (def. 5)
agriculture
a framework of several wooden fingers attached to a scythe to gather the grain into bunches as it is cut
a scythe equipped with such a cradle; cradle scythe
a collar of wooden fingers that prevents a horse or cow from turning its head and biting itself
Also called: rocker a boxlike apparatus for washing rocks, sand, etc, containing gold or gem stones
engraving a tool that produces the pitted surface of a copper mezzotint plate before the design is engraved upon it
a framework used to prevent the bedclothes from touching a sensitive part of an injured person
from the cradle to the grave throughout life
(tr) to rock or place in or as if in a cradle; hold tenderly
(tr) to nurture in or bring up from infancy
(tr) to replace (the handset of a telephone) on the cradle
to reap (grain) with a cradle scythe
(tr) to wash (soil bearing gold, etc) in a cradle
lacrosse to keep (the ball) in the net of the stick, esp while running with it
Origin of cradle
1Derived forms of cradle
- cradler, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with cradle
see from the cradle to the grave; rob the cradle.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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