cozy
Americanadjective
-
cozier,
comparative
-
coziest
superlative
-
comfortable and snug.
We live in a cozy little house with a small garden in the back.
-
convenient or beneficial, usually as a result of dishonesty or connivance.
A very cozy agreement between competing firms had kept the industry profitable for years.
-
suggesting opportunistic or conspiratorial intimacy.
The exposé revealed a cozy relationship between lobbyists and some politicians.
-
discreetly reticent or noncommittal.
The administrators are remaining cozy about which policy they plan to adopt.
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relating to a genre of mystery stories with little suspense, explicit violence, or sexual content, often also having amateur sleuths and idyllic, intimate settings.
I read lots of different books, but I like cozy mysteries best.
Charming characters and just the right amount of danger make this cozy series a delight to read.
noun
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cozies
plural
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a padded covering for a teapot or coffeepot to retain the heat of the contents.
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a mystery story with little suspense, explicit violence, or sexual content, often also having amateur sleuths and idyllic, intimate settings.
I started out reading cozies and moved on to the hard-boiled detective novels.
verb (used with object)
verb phrase
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of cozy
First recorded in 1700–10; from Scots colsie, perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian koselig “cozy,” kose seg “to enjoy oneself”
Explanation
The adjective cozy describes being comfortable and warm, like when you feel cozy curled up on the couch under a soft blanket, in front of a roaring fire. "Isn't this cozy?" If you hear these words, you might be in a friendly, casual place where everyone feels welcome. Or, perhaps you are in a small cabin that is warm and dry as they rain pours down outside. Or you have just stumbled upon the judge of a writing contest having dinner with one of the aspiring novelists — cozy can also mean "scheming." And as a noun? A cozy is a padded cloth used to keep a teapot warm.
Vocabulary lists containing cozy
The Circuit
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
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Words to Describe Homes
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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:
But spend enough time online and you’ll realize that the facade of cozy nights in and days quietly posing for photos lit by never-ceasing natural light is just that.
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2026
I love finding a cozy hotel lobby or tiny wine bar, putting my phone on do not disturb, ordering a glass of wine and sitting in a corner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“The chef’s kitchen with eat-in dining nook and wood-burning fireplace connects to a cozy family room and IPE-clad terrace overlooking a tranquil reflection pond,” the listing notes.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
The GIFs of the Owens’ Massachusetts estate, with its cozy fireplaces perfect for pajama lounging, still blow up Tumblr every October.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Mae provided another one of her shawls, and I created a cozy nest for Quinby.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
Following Mozart’s successful debut at court, Salieri cozies up to him and pretends to aid his cause.
From Salon ● May 16, 2026
It cozies up a space and provides cushioning for a tired cook’s feet.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2023
After a stream of singles ping-ponging between laid-back R&B and frenetic Bay Area-informed raps, the singer/rapper cozies up to her sultry R&B side on this year’s “On One” EP.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
Endeavoring to access Langley’s notebooks, she cozies up to his niece, a down-at-the-heels dealer in antiquarian books who isn’t above employing a little Lee Israel-style hocus-pocus to produce fake inventory for a credulous clientele.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2019
It's very English, with the tea cozies and all that sort of frills, and some of their luncheon dishes are delicious.
From Revelations of a Wife The Story of a Honeymoon by Adele Garrison
If OpenAI gets cozier with the government, Altman will likely have significant influence over AI regulations, said PitchBook analyst Harrison Rolfes.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
A large open-plan kitchen comes complete with a casual dining space, ideal for hosting large groups, while the sun-soaked living room boasts its own fireplace for cozier evenings during the winter months.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
What could be cozier than a flock of charismatic sheep hunting their shepherd’s killer?
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
For a cozier option, head to Stargazy, a pie shop that has quietly become a hub for soccer-crazed Brits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
And the lamps will make the space much cozier than the overhead fluorescent lights.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
This roasting kit helps revive one of wintertime’s coziest pleasures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
No constant monitoring, no worry and it is the coziest way I know to show off your plentitude of homegrown, or market procured, fresh produce.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2025
“A wing chair is one of the coziest pieces of furniture to have in a room.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
The coziest of cozy British mysteries, based on G.K.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2023
He made the hole in the bag still larger, crawled inside, and curled up in the coziest bed he had ever known.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
The rear cabin matches the front in molded-leather magnificence, with two deep-seated, high-bolstered rear chairs cozied up between the wheel wells, sharing an armrest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
He rubbed elbows with Russian elites, spoke of an exclusive invite aboard an oligarch’s mega-yacht and cozied up to foreign intelligence agencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
“McKinsey now has offices all over the world, and from them they’ve cozied up to some truly terrible clients,” Oliver said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
But then, in the 1980s, a bunch of Soviets showed up out of nowhere and cozied up to him.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2023
Shortly after sunrise we come down the steep road into Livingstonville, a small town of no more than forty houses and stores cozied at the confluence of the Cats- kill and Lake creeks.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
His FDA is promoting testosterone therapy for men while cozying up to men’s health influencers such as Joe Rogan and Andrew Huberman.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
In the meantime, YouTube campaigned to “normalize” itself in classrooms in part by cozying up to Parent Teacher Associations, school districts alleged in a lawsuit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
The couple first sparked romance rumors in July when they were seen cozying up in Spain together.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
Bezos’s cozying up continued after President-elect Trump won the election, with the billionaire congratulating him in a post to X and meeting with him at Mar-a-Lago.
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2025
Then the short woman with the big smile sat with them, cozying up beside Kathy.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
