CUDDLE | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of cuddle in English cuddleverb [ I or T ] uk /ˈkʌd.əl/ us /ˈkʌd.əl/ Add to word list Add to word list to put your arms around someone and hold them in a loving way, or (of two people) to hold each other close to show love or for comfort: She cuddled the baby and eventually it stopped crying. They sat in the back row of the cinema kissing and cuddling. Showing affection

• affectionally
• affectionate
• affectionately
• aw
• bear hug
• cwtch up to someone phrasal verb
• demonstratively
• demonstrativeness
• dogpile
• embrace
• embracingly
• hugger
• kissable
• love bomb
• love bombing
• make something/someone out phrasal verb
• smack
• spoon
• squeeze
• tactile

See more results »

Phrasal verbs

cuddle up cuddle up to someone cuddlenoun [ C ] mainly UK uk /ˈkʌd.əl/ us /ˈkʌd.əl/ the act of putting your arms around someone or around each other and holding them or each other in a loving way: Come here and give me a cuddle. "You need a cuddle," Cora whispered.   Rachel Gagnon/EyeEm/Getty Images /GettyImages

• He still wants a cuddle when I kiss him goodnight.
• I caught them having a kiss and a cuddle on the sofa.
• All children need lots of cuddles.
• His parents described their son as a boy who loved cuddles.

Showing affection

• affectionally
• affectionate
• affectionately
• aw
• bear hug
• cwtch up to someone phrasal verb
• demonstratively
• demonstrativeness
• dogpile
• embrace
• embracingly
• hugger
• kissable
• love bomb
• love bombing
• make something/someone out phrasal verb
• smack
• spoon
• squeeze
• tactile

See more results » (Definition of cuddle from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

cuddle | American Dictionary

cuddleverb [ I/T ] us /ˈkʌd·əl/ Add to word list Add to word list to put your arms around someone and hold him or her in a loving way, or of two people, to hold each other close for affection or comfort: [ T ] She cuddled the baby in her arms. To cuddle up is to sit or lie close to someone or something: [ I ] I like to cuddle up in front of the fireplace with a good book. cuddlenoun [ C ] us /ˈkʌd·əl/ an act of being held close by someone for affection or comfort: I need a cuddle. (Definition of cuddle from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of cuddle

cuddle So there's a really, really big cuddle, and then you get on. From the Cambridge English Corpus Emotion-recognition functioning were played out for the child with various cuddle toys. From the Cambridge English Corpus Additionally, chimpanzees at 2 days of age were more responsive to being cuddled by the examiner, compared with three groups of human babies. From the Cambridge English Corpus For example, the first card shows a girl cuddling her teddy bear. From the Cambridge English Corpus Patients tend to appreciate these robots, cuddle with them, and talk to them. From the Cambridge English Corpus They are - call, carry, catch, cuddle, cut, drop, find, have, hear, know, like, make, scratch, shut and tell. From the Cambridge English Corpus Janet pretends to cry and says she needs a hug and a cuddle. From the Cambridge English Corpus Her parents continually bathed her and changed her dressings, but they could not cuddle her. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 I wrote down one of his expressions about cuddling children and giving them a clip around the ear. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 There will be cosy little get-togethers among people who want to cuddle up to each other. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 You cannot persecute people for 50, 60 or 70 years and then suddenly expect to cuddle them. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 If he is volunteering to cuddle the babes, that is a matter for him. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 They are terrified of the babies, scarely touching them, never mind giving them a cuddle. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 All that is required is an occasional clip around the ear and a cuddle every night before bedtime. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 A little while later the husband again saw her with the man, cuddling in the dark. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of cuddle?

Translations of cuddle

in Chinese (Traditional) 抱, （互相）擁抱，摟抱… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 抱, （互相）拥抱，搂抱… See more in Spanish abrazar cariñosamente, abrazo, abrazar… See more in Portuguese abraçar, acariciar, afagar… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian ～を抱きしめる, 抱きしめること, 抱（だ）きしめる… See more sarılmak, kucaklamak, bağrına basmak… See more (s’)enlacer, faire un câlin, câliner… See more abraçar, abraçada… See more knuffelen, knuffel… See more obejmout, přitulit, objetí… See more omfavne, knuse, putte… See more memeluk, pelukan… See more กอดด้วยความรักใคร่, การกอดด้วยความรักใคร่… See more ôm ấp, hành động ôm ấp… See more przytulać, tulić, tulenie… See more omfamna, krama, kela med… See more peluk, pelukan… See more herzen, knuddeln, die Liebkosung… See more omfavne, kose med, klemme… See more 껴안다, 포옹… See more пригорнутися, обіймати, обійми… See more stringere tra le braccia, coccolare, abbraccio… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

cuckservative cucumber cucumber mosaic virus cud cuddle cuddle up phrasal verb cuddle up to someone phrasal verb cuddled cuddler {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of cuddle

• cuddle up phrasal verb
• cuddle up to someone phrasal verb

See all meanings

• cuddle up phrasal verb
• cuddle up to someone phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

Word of the Day

be on cloud nine

to be extremely happy and excited

About this

Blog

Throwing a punch or throwing your head back: using the verb ‘throw’

March 04, 2026 Read More

New Words

hushpitality March 02, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   VerbNoun
• American   VerbNoun
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add cuddle to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add cuddle to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}