canoodle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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canoodlesimple
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canoodlessimple
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have canoodledperfect
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has canoodledperfect
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am canoodlingprogressive
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are canoodlingprogressive
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is canoodlingprogressive
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have been canoodlingperfect progressive
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has been canoodlingperfect progressive
Past
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canoodledsimple
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had canoodledperfect
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was canoodlingprogressive
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were canoodlingprogressive
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had been canoodlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of canoodle
Explanation
To canoodle is to embrace and fondle. Romantic couples canoodle. When people are getting a little physical romantically, they're canoodling. This somewhat silly-sounding word applies to somewhat innocent physical affection. For some reason, this word is used frequently by celebrity reporters who love to write about who a hunky actor or sultry starlet is canoodling with at a cafe. However, anyone can canoodle as long as you have a date.
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:
At times in “Hamnet,” 1582, the year of their marriage, could pass for a millennium earlier, a rustic era where neither has anything more pressing to do than canoodle under the trees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
It wasn’t the Poconos’ fault people would rather backpack through Europe than canoodle in a heart-shaped hot tub in Pennsylvania.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
You’d canoodle with dumplings and spring rolls and sushi; and then, just as you were getting warmed up for a deeper commitment, the check would appear.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2015
Final Date With Josh: For their final date, Josh and Andi canoodle on a cruise around the Dominican Republic and Andi uses her law degree to grill Josh about what he said to her family.
From Time ● Jul. 29, 2014
This guy is divorced and entitled to go on a date and even canoodle without it being physically documented.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2012
Shawn’s Final Date: The happy couple canoodles in a winery, and Shawn casually asks her, “What else is going on?”
From Time ● Jul. 28, 2015
It is hard to come across as a pesky underdog when your top wide receiver canoodles with Kardashians and your stadium scoreboard showers fans with sapphires after every touchdown.
From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2010
There was the time Ellen DeGeneres, just days out of the closet, canoodled with new girlfriend Anne Heche right in front of Bill Clinton.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2023
And Spicer, a man no self-respecting person would want to be in a same room with, was canoodled by celebrities for the rest of the night.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2017
A couple in their early 20s, in matching his-and-hers fedoras, canoodled on stools pulled close together.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2016
When I asked if she and Elvis had canoodled, it turned out that she'd never heard the word.
From BBC ● May 21, 2013
At the cuddle party, I had canoodled with panache, but had I dominated?
From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2010
AI-generated videos and images of Rana and Hajdini on dinner dates and canoodling in an office have circulated on social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
A fan in the audience proposed to her shortly after photos of her and Trudeau canoodling on a yacht surfaced.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
It was Friday evening, and the best-connected players were canoodling in Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for the first presidential inauguration Crypto Ball, a special evening co-sponsored by the nonprofit corporate alliance Stand With Crypto.
From Slate ● Jan. 22, 2025
We all deserve a zone of privacy — even canoodling co-anchors.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2022
I didn’t care if she’d spent all day canoodling with him; I didn’t care if she’d left because she was furious with me.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions 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.
