cradle

[ kreyd-l ]

/ ˈkreɪd l /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: cradle / cradling on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small bed for an infant, usually on rockers.

any of various supports for objects set horizontally, as the support for the handset of a telephone.

the place where anything is nurtured during its early existence: Boston was the cradle of the American Revolution.

Agriculture.

a frame of wood with a row of long curved teeth projecting above and parallel to a scythe, for laying grain in bunches as it is cut.
a scythe together with the cradle in which it is set.

a wire or wicker basket used to hold a wine bottle in a more or less horizontal position while the wine is being served.

Artillery. the part of a gun carriage on which a recoiling gun slides.

a landing platform for ferryboats, rolling on inclined tracks to facilitate loading and unloading at different water levels.

Aeronautics. a docklike structure in which a rigid or semirigid airship is built or is supported during inflation.

Automotive. creeper (def. 6).

Nautical.

a shaped support for a boat, cast, etc.; chock.
truss (def. 9).

Shipbuilding.

a moving framework on which a hull slides down the ways when launched.
a built-up form on which plates of irregular form are shaped.

Medicine/Medical. a frame that prevents the bedclothes from touching an injured part of a bedridden patient.

Mining. a box on rockers for washing sand or gravel to separate gold or other heavy metal.

an engraver's tool for laying mezzotint grounds.

Painting. a structure of wooden strips attached to the back of a panel, used as a support and to prevent warping.

verb (used with object), cra·dled, cra·dling.

to hold gently or protectively.

to place or rock in or as in an infant's cradle.

to nurture during infancy.

to receive or hold as a cradle.

to cut (grain) with a cradle.

to place (a vessel) on a cradle.

Mining. to wash (sand or gravel) in a cradle; rock.

Painting. to support (a panel) with a cradle.

verb (used without object), cra·dled, cra·dling.

to lie in or as if in a cradle.

to cut grain with a cradle scythe.

OTHER WORDS FOR cradle

3 birthplace, fountain, font, wellspring.

See synonyms for cradle on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about cradle

rob the cradle, Informal. to marry, court, or date a person much younger than oneself.

Origin of cradle

before 1000; Middle English cradel,Old English cradol; akin to Old High German cratto basket

OTHER WORDS FROM cradle

cradler, nounun·cra·dled, adjective

Words nearby cradle

crack willow, cracky, cracovienne, Cracow, -cracy, cradle, cradleboard, cradle cap, cradle roof, cradle scythe, cradle snatcher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cradle in a sentence

Hot blue stars kicked out of their cradles may explain a mysterious ultraviolet glow that surrounds the disks of many spiral galaxies.
Runaway stars may create the mysterious ultraviolet glow around some galaxies|Ken Croswell|November 30, 2020|Science News
It sat last week in a special cradle among an estimated 300,000 other items housed in the 300,000 square feet of Navy storage space in Building 54 at the sprawling Defense Supply Center.
Giant anchors, wrecked boats and a ‘Liberty’ clock: Inside the storage site for Navy museum|Michael Ruane|November 10, 2020|Washington Post
The wand and charging cradle are included in the first delivery.
Gift Guide: The best beauty and wellness presents of 2020|Rachel King|November 1, 2020|Fortune
It includes portafilter cradle which makes it more like a professional cafe grinder.
Gear to make every day feel like National Coffee Day|PopSci Commerce Team|September 29, 2020|Popular-Science

That the development of agriculture and proliferation of human civilization has only occurred within the cradle of the Holocene’s mild and stable climate is widely considered no coincidence.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
You have focused on individual events and ideas in your books about Lincoln rather than the cradle-to-grave biographical approach.
What Lincoln Could Teach Fox News|Scott Porch|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His books include Up From the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II and a novel, Last of the Red Hot Poppas.
New Orleans’ Carnivalesque Day of the Dead|Jason Berry|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both Linda Perilstein, executive director of Cradle of Hope, and Leslie Case of Spence-Chapin, both declined to comment.
Couple Sues Over Russian ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Adoption of Disabled Kids|Tina Traster|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Doctors would not let the Cradle of Civilization come to this.
Mosul's Civilization and Its Discontents|Michael Carson|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When it comes to art, we are taught from the cradle that copying is wrong.
There’s Nothing Wrong—and a Lot That’s Right—About Copying Other Artists|Malcolm Jones|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She rose comforted, and drawing the baby's cradle out into the veranda, seated herself at her embroidery.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
The scarlet calico canopy was again set up over the bed, and the woven cradle, on its red manzanita frame, stood near.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
When the funeral was over, and they returned to their desolate home, at the sight of the empty cradle Ramona broke down.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
From its very cradle socialism showed the double aspect which has distinguished it ever since.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Oh, yes,—he has served me from my cradle; and his plain honest heart feels for his mistress's fallen fortunes, and is heavy.
The Battle of Hexham;|George Colman

British Dictionary definitions for cradle

cradle

/ (ˈkreɪdəl) /

noun

a baby's bed with enclosed sides, often with a hood and rockers

a place where something originates or is nurtured during its early lifethe cradle of civilization

the earliest period of lifethey knew each other from the cradle

a frame, rest, or trolley made to support or transport a piece of equipment, aircraft, ship, etc

a platform, cage, or trolley, in which workmen are suspended on the side of a building or ship

the part of a telephone on which the handset rests when not in use

a holder connected to a computer allowing data to be transferred from a PDA, digital camera, etc

another name for creeper (def. 5)

agriculture

a framework of several wooden fingers attached to a scythe to gather the grain into bunches as it is cut
a scythe equipped with such a cradle; cradle scythe
a collar of wooden fingers that prevents a horse or cow from turning its head and biting itself

Also called: rocker a boxlike apparatus for washing rocks, sand, etc, containing gold or gem stones

engraving a tool that produces the pitted surface of a copper mezzotint plate before the design is engraved upon it

a framework used to prevent the bedclothes from touching a sensitive part of an injured person

from the cradle to the grave throughout life

verb

(tr) to rock or place in or as if in a cradle; hold tenderly

(tr) to nurture in or bring up from infancy

(tr) to replace (the handset of a telephone) on the cradle

to reap (grain) with a cradle scythe

(tr) to wash (soil bearing gold, etc) in a cradle

lacrosse to keep (the ball) in the net of the stick, esp while running with it

Derived forms of cradle

cradler, noun

Word Origin for cradle

Old English cradol; related to Old High German kratto basket

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for cradle

cradle

[ krād′l ]

A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.

A frame used to keep the bedclothes from pressing on an injured part.

Other Idioms and Phrases with cradle

cradle

see from the cradle to the grave; rob the cradle.

cradle

OTHER WORDS FOR cradle

Idioms about cradle

Origin of cradle

OTHER WORDS FROM cradle

Words nearby cradle

Words related to cradle

How to use cradle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cradle

Derived forms of cradle

Word Origin for cradle

Medical definitions for cradle

Other Idioms and Phrases with cradle