cocoon
Americannoun
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cocoons
plural
-
the silky envelope spun by the larvae of many kinds of insects, as silkworms, serving as a covering for the insect during its stage as a pupa.
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any of various similar protective coverings in nature, as the silky case in which certain spiders enclose their eggs.
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a protective covering, usually consisting of polyvinyl chloride, sprayed over machinery, large guns on board ships, etc., to provide an airtight seal and prevent rust during long periods of storage.
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any encompassingly protective or hermetic wrapping or enclosure resembling a cocoon.
a cocoon of gauze.
verb (used without object)
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cocoons,
present (3rd person singular)
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cocooned,
past participle, past
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cocooning
present participle
-
to produce a cocoon.
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to spend time at home rather than going out to socialize, especially when enjoying comforting, quiet leisure activities or entertainment.
After a certain age you realize you’d rather skip the club and just cocoon with the hubby, watching a movie on the sofa.
verb (used with object)
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cocoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cocooned,
past participle, past
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cocooning
present participle
-
to wrap or enclose tightly, as if in a cocoon.
The doctor cocooned the patient in blankets.
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to provide (machinery, guns, etc.) with a protective, airtight covering by spraying with polyvinyl chloride or the like.
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to envelop or surround protectively; insulate.
a political leader cocooned by his staff and his bodyguards.
noun
-
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a silky protective envelope secreted by silkworms and certain other insect larvae, in which the pupae develop
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a similar covering for the eggs of the spider, earthworm, etc
-
-
a protective spray covering used as a seal on machinery
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a cosy warm covering
verb
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A case or covering of silky strands spun by an insect larva and inhabited for protection during its pupal stage.
-
A similar protective structure, such as the egg cases made by spiders or earthworms.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cocoonsimple
-
cocoonssimple
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have cocoonedperfect
-
has cocoonedperfect
-
am cocooningprogressive
-
are cocooningprogressive
-
is cocooningprogressive
-
have been cocooningperfect progressive
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has been cocooningperfect progressive
Past
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cocoonedsimple
-
had cocoonedperfect
-
was cocooningprogressive
-
were cocooningprogressive
-
had been cocooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cocoon
First recorded in 1690–1700; from French cocon, from Provençal coucoun “eggshell,” equivalent to coco “shell” (from Latin coccum; see cochineal) + French -on diminutive suffix
Explanation
A cocoon is a silky web spun around the larvae of many insects. Caterpillars emerge from their cocoons as beautiful butterflies. The word cocoon can also refer to a form of self-protection for humans. For some people, their house is a cocoon, a cozy retreat from which they can escape the world. They cocoon themselves away for a whole weekend, reading, watching TV, and not answering email or the phone. Another word for cocoon is chrysalis, but only in the context of insects.
Vocabulary lists containing cocoon
Comfy Cozy Lingo
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Great waves of warmth, as from a fire blazing in a cozy hearth, flow from the stage in the musical “Buena Vista Social Club,” wrapping the audience in a cocoon of musical bliss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The performances bear that out, from Benton and Bing’s steady inner light to Compère’s coiled, watchful Tosha, a compelling portrait of skepticism inside this cocoon of warmth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Using modelling simulations, they determined the most likely scenario was that the object is powered by a central black hole surrounded by a cocoon of gas that makes it resemble a star.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
They open the infected pupa's cocoon, create small cuts in its outer surface, and apply formic acid, a natural antimicrobial compound produced by the workers themselves.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025
That evening the Negroes in Hampton stayed in the cocoon of our segregated neighborhoods, gravitating to our churches to try to make sense of our collective tragedy.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
It involves feeding mulberry leaves to silkworms, harvesting their cocoons and extracting the silk fibres.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Or the part where we emerge from our cocoons and ask each other, in mock-amazement, whether this is really who we are.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2026
Silk comforts and cocoons, so light it practically hovers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
In response, the researchers developed a bilayer adhesive hemostat utilizing mussel adhesive proteins that exhibit strong tissue adhesion underwater and silk fibroin extracted from silkworm cocoons.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
A wave of warmth cocoons around me like a hug in Lita’s arms.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
In the Premier League, are we largely cocooned from much of the controversy in the other top European leagues?
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
I’m lying on a heated massage bed, cocooned in a soft, weighted blanket, as Kayla Faraji caresses my cheeks with billowy, pink goose feathers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026
Ms. Rizer begins in a peasant shift of woven jute and ends, after seven layers and 154 pounds of increasing Tolstoyan grandeur, cocooned in a wintry mantle of taupe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
But car bloat’s most obvious and urgent downside may be the danger it presents to anyone on the street who isn’t cocooned inside a gigantic vehicle.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2024
Although I was sleeping on the bare earth, I felt cocooned in the sublime rest I had been granted.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
"Covid was very tough. I ended up cocooning because I was afraid of getting sick, afraid of nearly dying I suppose," he explained.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
In the cocooning fluidity of an ocean-borne day, rendered with thick-brushed painterliness and splashes of sound, we travel across flashes of community, injustice, achievement, love and despair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Something that understood the rhythm of a slow morning, thick socks, a fogged-up kitchen, the whole mood of wintertime cocooning.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
The idea that cocooning may be harmful is completely new information to most patients Gormally meets.
From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2024
I think about the dense woods cocooning the property, with the meandering, secret paths we made ourselves with wheelbarrows full of mulch.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
