swaddle
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to bind (an infant, especially a newborn infant) with long, narrow strips of cloth to prevent free movement; wrap tightly with clothes.
-
to wrap (anything) round with bandages.
noun
verb
-
to wind a bandage round
-
to wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes
-
to restrain as if by wrapping with bandages; smother
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swaddle
1375–1425; late Middle English, in suadiling (gerund); akin by gradation to Middle English swethel (noun), Old English; see swathe 1, -le
Explanation
When you swaddle a baby, you wrap her in a blanket. Parents often swaddle a crying newborn to soothe and comfort her. You can swaddle anything, if you wrap it snugly in a cloth — a child might attempt to swaddle his kitten, or his toy truck — but the verb is used most often to describe the technique of calming a baby with a tightly wrapped blanket. The word swaddle has been in use since the 1300's, and it was probably a form of the Old English swaþian, related to the word swathe, which has a similar meaning to swaddle.
Vocabulary lists containing swaddle
The Bluest Eye
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Between Shades of Gray
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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.
She told police she had learnt how to wrap and swaddle babies on the job, and had had no formal training in how to put children down to sleep.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
But he’s also puckish – sylph-like and otherworldly, seductive and repellent, as likely to swaddle Sarah in her heart’s desire as he is to toss her into the belching, farting Bog of Eternal Stench.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026
“We knew absolutely nothing about child care. We needed someone to show us: This is how you change a diaper, this is how you swaddle, this is how you wash a baby’s hair,” said Zhu.
From Slate • Jul. 13, 2024
Don’t use loose blankets either — swaddle or use a sleepsack instead.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2023
Eva’s last child, Plum, to whom she hoped to bequeath everything, floated in a constant swaddle of love and affection, until 1917 when he went to war.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
