Adjacent Words

Coddle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CODDLE, v.t. To parboil, or soften by the heat of water.
CODLE, v.t. To make much of.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!" [syn: pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge]
2: cook in nearly boiling water; "coddle eggs"

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (coddled; coddling) Etymology: perhaps from caudle Date: 1598 1. to cook (as eggs) in liquid slowly and gently just below the boiling point 2. to treat with extreme or excessive care or kindness ; pamper <accused the court of coddling criminals> • coddler noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a treat as an invalid; protect attentively. b (foll. by up) strengthen by feeding. 2 cook (an egg) in water below boiling point. Derivatives: coddler n. Etymology: prob. dial. var. of caudle invalids' gruel

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Coddle Cod"dle (k[o^]d"d'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Coddled (-d'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Coddling (-dl[i^]ng).] [Cf. Prov. E. caddle to coax, spoil, fondle, and Cade, a. & v. t.] [Written also codle.] 1. To parboil, or soften by boiling. It [the guava fruit] may be coddled. --Dampier. 2. To treat with excessive tenderness; to pamper. How many of our English princes have been coddled at home by their fond papas and mammas! --Thackeray. He [Lord Byron] never coddled his reputation. --Southey.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(coddles, coddling, coddled) To coddle someone means to treat them too kindly or protect them too much. She coddled her youngest son madly... VERB: V n [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Parboil, boil slightly. 2. Humor, nurse, pamper, cocker, indulge, fondle, caress, pet, treat with fondness, make much of.

Moby Thesaurus

baby, bake, barbecue, baste, bay, blanch, boil, braise, brew, broil, brown, care for, caress, cater to, cherish, cocker, cook, cosset, cotton, cradle, cultivate, curry, dandle, devil, do, do to perfection, dry-nurse, favor, feed, fire, fondle, foster, fricassee, frizz, frizzle, fry, give way to, gratify, griddle, grill, heat, humor, indulge, lavish care on, mollycoddle, mother, much, nourish, nurse, nurture, oblige, oven-bake, pamper, pan, pan-broil, parboil, pat, pet, please, poach, prepare, prepare food, roast, satisfy, saute, scallop, sear, shirr, simmer, spoil, spoon-feed, steam, stew, stir-fry, suckle, sustain, toast, wet-nurse, yield to