Meaning

A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots..

Definitions by Sense

1. A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots.
2. (figuratively) The place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence.
3. (figuratively) Infancy, or very early life.
4. An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.
5. A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so as to prepare the ground.
6. A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.
7. A case for a broken or dislocated limb.
8. A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the sensitive parts of an injured person.

Example Sentences

No sooner was I crept out of my cradle / But I was made a king, at nine months old.

the cradle that received thee at thy birth

Hush-a-by, baby, upon the tree-top; / When the wind blows the cradle will rock; / When the bough breaks the cradle will fall; / Down will come cradle and baby and all.

a cradle of crime

the cradle of liberty

from the cradle to the grave

from their cradles bred together

a form of worship in which they had been educated from their cradle

Word Forms

• cradles
• cradling
• cradled

Synonyms for cradle

Related Words

When Should You Use Cradle?

Use cradle when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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