cradle
noun /ˈkreɪdl/
/ˈkreɪdl/
Idioms - a small bed for a baby that can be pushed gently from side to side
enlarge image- She rocked the baby to sleep in its cradle.
- [usually singular] cradle of something the place where something important began
- Greece, the cradle of Western civilization
- (British English) a small platform that can be moved up and down the outside of a high building, used by people cleaning windows, etc.
- the part of a phone on which the handset restsTopics Phones, email and the internetc2
Word OriginOld English cradol, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to German Kratte ‘basket’.
Idioms
from the cradle to the grave
- a way of referring to the whole of a person’s life, from birth until death
rob the cradle
- (North American English, informal) to have a sexual relationship with a much younger person