swaddle

[ swod-l ]

See synonyms for: swaddle swaddling on Thesaurus.com

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

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

a long, narrow strip of cloth used for swaddling or bandaging.

Origin of swaddle

1375–1425; late Middle English, in suadiling (gerund); akin by gradation to Middle English swethel (noun), Old English; see swathe¹, -le

Other words from swaddle

un·swad·dled, adjective
un·swad·dling, adjective

Words Nearby swaddle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use swaddle in a sentence

They are machine-washable, cotton swaddles that can double as baby blankets, car seat covers, and more.
Swaddles to keep your little one cozy and comfortable | PopSci Commerce Team | January 11, 2021 | Popular-Science
Measuring 16 x 64 inches, these swaddles will fit your new little life perfectly.
Swaddles to keep your little one cozy and comfortable | PopSci Commerce Team | January 11, 2021 | Popular-Science
The English approach is to swaddle any attacks with disarming self-deprecation.
Brit Wits Bash America | Sean Macaulay | February 17, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
The swaddle is a piece of stout cloth about a yard square, to one corner of which is attached a long narrow band.
The Syrian Christ | Abraham Mitrie Rihbany
They take a live man, let us say Sergey Golovin, they swaddle him as a doll and they hang him by the neck until he is dead.
The Seven who were Hanged | Leonid Andreyev

The one thing she would not buy was a sewing machine to make her own swaddle with, as Ilse economically counselled.
The Pastor's Wife | Elizabeth von Arnim
There would be sad screaming and kicking were I to swaddle mine in stone-work.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems | Walter Savage Landor
Come, come, strap and string down; swaddle it round wi' sax dizzen o' wheelbands, and fasten a steel-belted fur cap ower aboon a'.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 3 (of 3) | James Hogg

British Dictionary definitions for swaddle

swaddle

/ (ˈswɒdəl) /

verb(tr)

to wind a bandage round
to wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes

to restrain as if by wrapping with bandages; smother

noun

mainly US swaddling clothes

Origin of swaddle

C15: from Old English swæthel swaddling clothes; related to swathian to swathe

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

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