huddle
Americanverb (used without object)
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huddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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huddled,
past participle, past
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huddling
present participle
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to gather or crowd together in a close mass.
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to crouch, curl up, or draw oneself together.
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Football. to get together in a huddle.
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to confer or consult; meet to discuss, exchange ideas, or make a decision.
verb (used with object)
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huddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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huddled,
past participle, past
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huddling
present participle
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to heap or crowd together closely.
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to draw (oneself ) closely together, as in crouching; nestle (often followed byup ).
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Chiefly British. to do hastily and carelessly (often followed by up, over, ortogether ).
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to put on (clothes) with careless haste (often followed byon ).
noun
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huddles
plural
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a closely gathered group, mass, or heap; bunch.
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Football. a gathering of the offensive team in a close circle or line behind the line of scrimmage for instructions, signals, etc., from the team captain or quarterback, usually held before each offensive play.
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a conference, or consultation, especially a private meeting to discuss serious matters.
The labor representatives have been in a huddle for two hours.
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confusion or disorder.
noun
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a heaped or crowded mass of people or things
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informal a private or impromptu conference (esp in the phrase go into a huddle )
verb
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to crowd or cause to crowd or nestle closely together
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(often foll by up) to draw or hunch (oneself), as through cold
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informal (intr) to meet and confer privately
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(tr) to do (something) in a careless way
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rare (tr) to put on (clothes) hurriedly
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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huddlesimple
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huddlessimple
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have huddledperfect
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has huddledperfect
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am huddlingprogressive
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are huddlingprogressive
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is huddlingprogressive
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have been huddlingperfect progressive
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has been huddlingperfect progressive
Past
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huddledsimple
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had huddledperfect
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was huddlingprogressive
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were huddlingprogressive
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had been huddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of huddle
1570–80; hud- (weak grade of root found in hide 1 ) + -le; replacing Middle English hoder, equivalent to hod- (variant hud- ) + -er -er 6
Explanation
In a football game, a huddle is a quick conference before a play. Huddle can also be a dense and disorganized crowd, like a group of people standing under an awning waiting for the rain to pass. As a verb huddle means to draw people together or to crouch low or curl up. The word comes from the late 16th century, when it meant “to conceal.” That makes sense. When a burglar comes into your home, you might huddle in the closet so he'll leave without harming you. When your mom comes to see if you’re sleeping, you might huddle under your blankets with your flashlight so she won’t know you’re still up reading.
Vocabulary lists containing huddle
Set, Hut! Football Vocabulary
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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:
Inside the barren transit tent, which provides little escape from scorching 41C heat, Zarina sits alongside an anxious huddle of women and their children.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
“They’ll close the road. A lot of them huddle up. The reason they huddle up is because it’s dangerous.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Players came back to form a huddle around him and comfort him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
There's a final team huddle with words of encouragement from their coach before they head out to the pitch – a place that for years they had been told they did not belong.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
He thought Josie would huddle close and whisper conspiratorially about all their plans going forward—all the ways they’d outsmart Ivy and whoever else they were competing against.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
He was communicating with teammates during huddles and film sessions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
At many companies, workers start whispering about possible cuts as soon as they spot leaders in impromptu huddles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
He’s up to 25 players and hoping the Gerhardt brothers will continue to be entertaining in games and in huddles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
There has been a frenzy of diplomatic activity: bilateral, late-night leader phone calls, European huddles in London and in Paris, meetings of Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
Well, whispering really, in little huddles in the halls and the atrium like they’re discussing plays during a basketball game.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Earlier this morning, she was huddled in a room full of men—each brandishing neatly bullet-pointed memos—drumming up talking points about A.I. safety that will soon be disseminated across Capitol Hill.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
A small group of people huddled around the tribute in Sol on Thursday, some visibly moved, while tourists tried to navigate an obstacle course of tents and candles.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Photos shared on social media showed dozens of construction workers huddled together.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Alas, officials on the Big House field huddled with replay officials, who reviewed their feed and discovered there was actually an additional, double-secret second hiding in the space-time continuum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
The crew members huddled together in the cold evening air, wondering what would happen next.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
Teams from the two companies have been huddling for months to plan for the melding of the two operations as soon as Paramount receives all of its regulatory approvals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Knicks had swept the favored Spurs in their home barn, edging closer to a long-forlorn franchise’s first championship since Nixon was huddling with Haldeman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
That appears to be the call made by quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who after huddling with family and advisers, announced on Instagram Thursday night he will remain at Washington in 2026.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
At dusk on the second day, about 75 Rongelapese crowded the decks and cabins of the ship, many of them huddling under a tarp the ship’s first mate, Martini Gotjé, had strung up.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Now we are all huddling in the cargo hold with the obelisk.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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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.
