Cuddle
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An intimate physical embrace, typically while lying (or sitting): a snuggle, an instance of lying together snugly, as one might with a partner (more intimate than a hug, and typically of longer duration). US
"I'm so impatient / I can't stand the wait / When will I get my cuddle?"
- 2 a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace wordnet
- 3 An affectionate embrace, a hug, such as is given to family members and close friends (less intimate than a snuggle, and typically of shorter duration). UK
"Give me a cuddle, Paul; it'll cheer you up."
- 1 To lie together snugly (with someone), in an intimate physical embrace; to snuggle. US, intransitive, transitive
"The young lovers cuddled on the couch."
- 2 move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position wordnet
- 3 To embrace (someone) affectionately; to hug (someone) closely. UK, intransitive, transitive
- 4 hold (a person or thing) close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth wordnet
- 5 To cradle (e.g. a baby) in one's arms so as to give comfort, warmth. transitive
"She cuddled the infant before bedtime."
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- 6 To lie close or snug; to crouch; to nestle.
"She cuddles low behind the brake; / Nor would she stay, nor dares she fly."
Example
More examples"He disregards his wife every time she asks to cuddle."
Etymology
Origin uncertain, but probably from a frequentative form of Middle English *cudden, cuththen, keththen (“to embrace”), a variant of cuthen, kuthen, kithen (“to be familiar with, make known”), from Middle English cuth, couth (“known, familiar”), equivalent to couth + -le. Cognate with Middle Dutch kudden (“to come together, flock together”). More at couth.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.