cradle

USKRAY-duhl/ˈkɹeɪdəl/

24 meanings of cradle

1
nouncountable
A small bed for a baby that can rock or swing gently.
The baby fell asleep in her cradle after lunch.
Grandpa built two wooden cradles for the twins.
Similarbassinet, crib
Note
2
hold in armsverbtransitive
To hold something gently and carefully to keep it safe.
Always cradle a newborn's head when you pick the baby up.
She cradled the tiny kitten in both hands.
Similarhold, clasp, nurse, hug, wrap
3
verbtransitive
To hold something in a cradle, or in a shape like one.
Green hills cradle the small village.
The nest cradled three tiny blue eggs.
Similarhold, embrace, surround, support, cup
4
birthplacenounfigurativelycountable
The place where something first started and grew.
That little garage was the cradle of a huge computer company.
Our town's art school was the cradle of many famous painters.
Similarbirthplace, nursery
Note
5
rock a babyverbtransitive
To move a baby gently from side to side so it goes to sleep.
Can you cradle him to sleep while I make dinner?
Mom cradled the baby to sleep, rocking her back and forth.
Similarrock, lull
6
phone restnouncountable
The part of a phone where you rest the handset, or a stand for some computer devices.
She put the phone back in its cradle.
Put the tablet in the cradle so it can charge.
Similardock, stand, base
7
earliest yearsnounfiguratively
The time when someone is a baby or very young.
Those two have been best friends almost from the cradle.
The plan looks after people's health from the cradle to the grave.
Similarinfancy, birth
Note
8
sootheverbtransitive
To make someone calm and quiet, as if you were rocking them.
The soft rain cradled him into a deep sleep.
Let the gentle hum of the train cradle you while you rest.
Similarlull, soothe, calm, rock
9
verbtransitive
To care for and teach a child from the time they are a baby.
They wanted to cradle their son in music, so they sang to him every day.
She was cradled in a family of farmers and knew all about animals from the start.
Similarnurture, raise, rear
Note
10
blanket framenouncountable
A frame in a bed that keeps the sheets from touching a hurt part of the body.
The nurse put a cradle over his burned legs so the blanket would not touch them.
With a cradle under the covers, she slept without the sheet pressing on her broken foot.

11
limb casenouncountable
A case that holds and protects an arm or leg that is broken or out of place.
The doctor put his broken arm in a cradle.
She had to keep her leg in a cradle for weeks after the fall.
12
frame on rollersnouncountable
A strong frame on rollers used to hold and move ships or other very heavy things.
Workers slid the new boat down to the water on a wooden cradle.
The old cannon was pulled across the yard on an iron cradle.
13
carry boatsverbtransitive
To move a boat or ship by setting it on a cradle, a strong frame that carries it.
Workers cradle the small boats and pull them up the hill.
The boats were cradled and carried over the land.
14
wine bottle holdernouncountable
A machine that slowly tips a bottle of wine so the wine can be poured out.
The waiter put the old bottle in a cradle and turned a small handle.
This cradle tips the bottle a little at a time.
15
rescue basketnouncountable
A basket or similar device that travels along a rope from a wrecked ship to the shore, carrying people to safety.
The sailors came to the beach one by one in the cradle.
People on the shore pulled the cradle along the rope.
Note
16
lacrosseverbintransitive
In lacrosse, to rock your stick back and forth so the ball stays in the head of the stick.
At lacrosse practice, the coach told us to keep our sticks up and cradle as we run.
She cradled all the way down the field, and the ball never fell out of her stick.
Note
17
grain scythenouncountable
A wide-bladed tool for cutting grain, with long fingers that catch the stalks and lay them in neat rows.
My great-grandfather cut the whole wheat field by hand with a cradle.
He swung the cradle, and the oats fell in a neat row behind him.
18
cut grainverbtransitive
To cut grain with a cradle, a wide blade with long fingers, and lay it on the ground.
Grandpa used to cradle the wheat by hand every summer.
They cradled the whole field before the rain came.
Similarreap, mow
19
engraving toolnouncountable
A tool that is rocked back and forth over a printing plate to make it rough for a mezzotint.
He moved the cradle back and forth across the metal plate.
Our art teacher showed us how to rock the cradle to make a mezzotint print.
20
gold washingnouncountable
A machine that rocks from side to side to wash dirt and find the gold in it.
He shoveled dirt into the cradle and rocked it by the river.
They found a few bits of gold at the bottom of the cradle.
Note
21
mine platformnouncountable
A platform that hangs in a mine shaft for workers to stand on.
The miners stood on the cradle to fix the shaft walls.
They lowered the cradle slowly down the shaft.
Note
22
ceiling framenouncountable
A frame of curved strips that gives an arched ceiling its shape, made to be covered with plaster.
The builders put up the cradle before they spread the plaster.
You can't see the cradle once the ceiling is finished.
Note
23
jugglingnouncountable
A way of holding your hand so a juggling ball sits still on the back of it.
Hold the ball in a cradle for a few seconds before the next trick.
She rolled the ball over her fingers and stopped it in a cradle.
Note
24
brace a paintingverbtransitive
To fix strips across the back of a painting on wooden boards to stop the boards from bending.
They had to cradle the old painting because the wood was bending.
Someone cradled this painting a long time ago to keep it flat.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of cradle apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English cradol, from an old Germanic word meaning "basket". It is related to cart.