cuddle.
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).
Meaning & usage
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).
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).
Give me a cuddle, Paul; it'll cheer you up.
Where this word comes from
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.
To lie together snugly (with someone), in an intimate physical embrace; to snuggle.
The young lovers cuddled on the couch.
To embrace (someone) affectionately; to hug (someone) closely.
To cradle (e.g. a baby) in one's arms so as to give comfort, warmth.
She cuddled the infant before bedtime.
I'm cold; can you roll over here and cuddle me, honey?
To lie close or snug; to crouch; to nestle.
Where this word comes from
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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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.