cuddle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
cuddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cuddled,
past participle, past
-
cuddling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
cuddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cuddled,
past participle, past
-
cuddling
present participle
-
to lie close and snug; nestle.
-
to curl up in going to sleep.
noun
-
cuddles
plural
verb
-
to hold (another person or thing) close or (of two people, etc) to hold each other close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth; embrace; hug
-
to curl or snuggle up into a comfortable or warm position
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cuddlesimple
-
cuddlessimple
-
have cuddledperfect
-
has cuddledperfect
-
am cuddlingprogressive
-
are cuddlingprogressive
-
is cuddlingprogressive
-
have been cuddlingperfect progressive
-
has been cuddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
cuddledsimple
-
had cuddledperfect
-
was cuddlingprogressive
-
were cuddlingprogressive
-
had been cuddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cuddle
1510–20; perhaps back formation from Middle English cudliche intimate, affectionate, Old English cūthlīc, or from Middle English cuthlechen, Old English cūthlǣcan to make friends with; see couth 2, -ly
Explanation
To cuddle is to embrace in a loving, affectionate way. If you're having a terrible day, you probably wish you could just go home, get in bed, and cuddle with your cat. Cuddle might come from the Middle English couth, "known" — after all, you only cuddle with those you know. Or, cuddle may have started as baby talk that caught on. When you cuddle, you give a snuggly hug to make yourself or another person feel loved or comforted. As a noun, cuddle describes the time of the embrace, like having one last cuddle before leaving for a long trip.
Vocabulary lists containing cuddle
Love Letter Words for Valentine's Day
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!
Comfy Cozy Lingo
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!
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 a 5-year-old can’t cuddle a compound-interest chart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
The cats mostly range in age from 8 months old to 2 years old, with some as young as 4 months — and adult guests are free to cuddle, hold and move them around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Some humans want to hurt you, and others want to crowd, cage, and cuddle you—when what you really need is just grass, mud, clean water, and a little space.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
"It was so hard to comfort him, I wanted to cuddle him but it would cause him too much pain," she said.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
One of the chimps needs a cuddle, so I let him ride on my hip as I make my way around the tent.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
She cuddles next to me when I’m sick and sits on my chest when I cry.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2025
“Lots of cuddles, silence and hugs,” said Marcovitz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025
This is all so he can coddle his sulky, wild teenage son while expecting Carrie to limit all extracurricular cuddles to her adopted kitty, Shoe.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
"She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time," she was quoted as saying by the AP news agency on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2025
Zola scoots onto the bed and cuddles Rosetta.
From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech
The Prince of Wales posed for selfies with locals, cuddled a baby, and planted new trees during a visit to Paqueta, an island a ferry away from Rio de Janeiro.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025
A new study -- published in the Human-Animal Interactions journal -- reveals that cows who are cuddled as therapy animals showed a strong preference for interactions with women when compared to men.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2024
Rahena pulled her daughter into her lap and cuddled her.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
“They’ll get cuddled and caressed — the cats will be happy,” she said.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
Petra woke momentarily from where she lay cuddled next to Sinjin.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
“She remains in our hearts, an inimitable force of nature,” her family wrote in the statement accompanying a photo of Jordan cuddling a cat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
A video posted by a Tamil film star showing him cuddling an endangered gibbon has triggered an investigation by Indian wildlife officials over how he came into contact with the animal.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
That’s part of the film’s genius, something that was difficult to see 25 years ago, when the most intimate relationship most people had with technology was cuddling up with their TiVo every night.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
In a joint Instagram post with the outlet, the Hallmark co-stars shared tender photos from an intimate shoot of themselves cuddling their baby girl and posing with their dog, Willoughby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
And then there was a shot of Erlan’s big sister Alma cuddling a kitten.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
