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
How to use cradle in a sentence
The following bright and mellow Monday, Uriguen cradles the new child.
Idaho Woman Who Gave Birth on Highway: ‘I Had to Pull My Pants Down to Get the Baby Out’ | Dale Eisinger | July 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“You know nothing, Jon Snow…” are her final words, as he cradles her body in his arms.
Life After ‘Game of Thrones’ Death: Where to See Your Favorite Dead Characters Next | Marlow Stern | June 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe action slows, and the camera pulls away as Snow cradles the slain Ygritte in his arms.
Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie on Ygritte and Jon Snow’s Reunion at the Battle of Castle Black | Marlow Stern | June 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey have been slaughtered in their schools and gassed in their cradles by the Assad regime.
The girl picks up the phone and cradles it close to her face.
Iranian Lawyer Fasts for Her 13-Year-Old Daughter’s Rights from Prison | Sarah Shourd | December 8, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
So how do you suppose Yung Pak's mother used to put him to sleep in this land where cradles were unknown?
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeThe noise reached far out over the plain and across the hills and awoke the little babes that were sleeping in their cradles.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe countless million heads are heavy with fruition, and sun glorifies and breeze cradles them to the hour of harvest.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete | Gilbert ParkerThey have robbed your cradles; they have sold your children; they have separated husband and wife, father and mother and child.
The Flag Replaced on Sumter | William A. SpicerI say it ain't right to go back on cradles; they belong to babies.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
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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