coddle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
coddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
coddled,
past participle, past
-
coddling
present participle
verb
-
to treat with indulgence
-
to cook (something, esp eggs) in water just below the boiling point
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
coddlesimple
-
coddlessimple
-
have coddledperfect
-
has coddledperfect
-
am coddlingprogressive
-
are coddlingprogressive
-
is coddlingprogressive
-
have been coddlingperfect progressive
-
has been coddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
coddledsimple
-
had coddledperfect
-
was coddlingprogressive
-
were coddlingprogressive
-
had been coddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coddle
1590–1600; variant of caudle, v. use of caudle
Explanation
While it is okay for parents to coddle, spoil, or pamper a young child, it’s a little unnerving when parents coddle, or pamper adult children. And downright weird when adult children wear Pampers. Coddle is an old word. Originally, it meant to cook gently in water that is near boiling, as in coddling an egg. It most likely gained its association with pampering and taking care of someone via a drink made for invalids that was prepared by coddling. “Mollycoddle,” a synonym for coddle, originally meant a person who coddles himself, or an effeminate man.
Vocabulary lists containing coddle
Ender's Game
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Warriors Don't Cry
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Restart
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
I just think one of the cruelest things you can do is to coddle your child in a false reality versus helping them figure out the real reality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Does Prada want to coddle you in an unravelling world?
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
The screenwriter goes out of their way to coddle the audience, showing them everything they just watched, but with an added layer of new information to fill in the gaps so the twist makes sense.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026
But when things are rough, we don’t have to coddle each other.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2025
There were fertile red meadows of epithelial tissue to catch and coddle a cancer cell.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
A ballroom dancer who coddles his pet rats—Fred and Ginger—Declan rides a moped that his colleague, Sara Xiu, describes as “that pitiful hair-dryer on wheels.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
In Zimmerman’s final pick, Rose’s mother visits and friction ensues when Rose coddles her too much.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
In an interview with USA Today, Montana spoke on the lack of mental preparation that QB’s are entering the League with — suggesting contemporary college football’s coaching as a system that coddles its play-callers.
From Fox News ● Oct. 8, 2021
I’ve asked him to talk to Alexis about it, but he says she’s just an anxious helicopter mom who coddles Casey, but they’ll both eventually move on from this phase and it’ll be fine.
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2021
“Shall we have a look at that horse then? I doubt it’s anything serious. Marlena coddles them terribly. Oh, here’s the little lady now. Come here, darling,” he calls brightly.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
What the reporting revealed was a continuing debate over whether Gen Z is everything from coddled to unfairly stereotyped and how it will fare at work in the future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Better equipped to mother Boy No. 2 or stricken with learned helplessness from being coddled by an expert on my phone day in and day out?
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
But the culture has been kind of coddled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
He’s Theo James’ character in “The Gentlemen,” which is worth mentioning because that Netflix series makes the coddled aristocracy look suave and more action-ready than most of them are.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2024
For a panda to survive in the wild, a panda must be wild—and that can’t happen if it’s been cuddled and coddled and cared for by humans before it’s released.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
The lessons learned during those first two years helped me navigate future challenges and disappointments in ways that coddling never could.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Indeed, Secretary Warfighter’s need for constant coddling is being ever more severely exposed as this scandal unfolds.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
Next season, while the Lakers are on vacation, are we going to see Austin Reaves in the playoffs wearing another team’s uniform because the Lakers traded him while coddling an aged star?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2025
When we’re formulating policies for children as a whole rather than coddling our own little angels, we fall scandalously short.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
I was too old for coddling at that point.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
