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.
To test the films' effectiveness, Swaddle and his colleagues applied one of two commercially available films to either interior or exterior window surfaces.
From Scientific American • May 9, 2023
Going into the study, Dr. Swaddle expected to find at least some benefit in those kinds of cases.
From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2023
The Cocoon Swaddle Bags range from $29.99 to $49.99, depending on the level of thermal insulation.
From Seattle Times • May 26, 2021
This was the question that ecologist John Swaddle of the College of William and Mary was trying to tackle by studying birds.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2018
Mrs. Tod inquired the matter; and three or four voices at once replied, that an express had come from Garnock for Nanse Swaddle the midwife, Mrs. Craig being taken with her pains.
From The Ayrshire Legatees, or, the Pringle family by Galt, John
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.
