I. ˈhəd ə l verb
( huddled ; huddled ; huddling -d( ə )liŋ ; huddles )
Etymology: probably from or akin to Middle English hoderen to huddle together, wrap up; probably akin to Middle English hiden to hide — more at hide
transitive verb
1. Britain : to throw together or complete carelessly or hurriedly
things happened as in a badly directed moving picture, all huddled, all hurried — Donn Byrne
— often followed by a directional adverb
the solemnities had to be huddled through at express speed — Manchester Examiner
weakness … to huddle up his stories rather than to wind them off to an orderly conclusion — George Saintsbury
2. : to conceal from view : cover up
political deaths are huddled and secret — Time & Tide
3.
a. : to mass together : crowd
give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free — Emma Lazarus
ours is a nation in which military and civilian targets are huddled together — D.H.McLachlan
all over the country people are huddled round their radios — F.L.Allen
b. : to draw (oneself) together : crouch
the men huddled themselves low against the wind — A.J.Cronin
he was huddled in his cot, trying to keep warm — Gertrude Atherton
4. dialect chiefly England : hug , embrace
5.
a. archaic : to herd into or out of a place in a disorderly mass
we were huddled out like a flock of sheep, by a file of soldiers — Frederick Marryat
b. : to pull on unceremoniously or wrap oneself closely in (clothes)
she huddled her purple woolen coat round her — Rumer Godden
— often used with on
I huddled on my clothes — A.T.Quiller-Couch
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to gather in a group : press close together : assemble , bunch
passengers … huddle like sheep at entrance gates — Bennett Cerf
an opera chorus huddles round a few haughty soloists — G.B.Shaw
little printers' cafés … huddle near the thundering presses — Francis Aldor
b. : to curl up : crouch
huddled in the lee of a rock, trying to get a little protection from the wind — H.D.Quillin
a long gray cat huddled watchfully in the window — Katherine A. Porter
— often used with up
huddled up, closed his eyes, and went quite … peacefully to sleep — James Hilton
c. : to dress oneself hurriedly or wrap something around oneself
hip-length coat, with a big collar to huddle — Lois Long
2. obsolete : to act in a precipitate manner
fools huddle on, and always are in haste — Nicholas Rowe
3.
a. : to hold a consultation : confer
worried financiers huddled to discuss the possible effects of the blow on California's economy — Newsweek
specifically : to gather behind the scrimmage line in a football game in order to receive the play (as from the quarterback) for the next down
b. : to pause for thought in a bridge game
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a close-packed group : jumble , bunch
huddles of cows and sheep
the ugly huddle of weather-beaten shacks and wharves where the fishermen kept their tackle — L.C.Douglas
huddle of meaningless words — Edith Sitwell
the four harpooners, the cooper, and myself were sitting in a huddle in the steerage — H.A.Chippendale
b. : a shapeless mass : lump
a huddle of black against the starlight — Marjory S. Douglas
2. : confusion , disarray , muddle
equally free from the dullness of slow or the hurry and huddle of quick time — Earl of Chesterfield
3.
a. : meeting , discussion , conference
spent some eight hours in a huddle with a dozen laymen and priests — M.E.Bennett
secret huddles were held by five leading Republicans — Newsweek
a huddle of social scientists put the finishing touches on a massive study of American life — F.L.Allen
— often used in the phrase go into a huddle
at the end of the bout the judges go into a huddle to determine the winner
she went into a series of huddles with cheese experts — Harry Thompson
go into a huddle with yourself about it — Mary D. Gillies
b. : a strategy conference of football players behind the line of scrimmage
c. : a long pause for thought by a bridge player before he bids or plays
went into a huddle before making his first discard — Oswald Jacoby