(~s, cradling, ~d)
1.
A ~ is a baby’s bed with high sides. Cradles often have curved bases so that they rock from side to side.
= crib
N-COUNT
2.
The ~ is the part of a telephone on which the receiver rests while it is not being used.
I dropped the receiver back in the ~.
N-COUNT
3.
A ~ is a frame which supports or protects something.
He fixed the towing ~ round the hull.
N-COUNT
4.
A place that is referred to as the ~ of something is the place where it began.
Mali is the ~ of some of Africa’s richest civilizations.
N-COUNT: usu sing, the N of n
5.
If you ~ someone or something in your arms or hands, you hold them carefully and gently.
I ~d her in my arms...
He was sitting at the big table cradling a large bowl of milky coffee.
VERB: V n in n, V n
6.
If something affects you from the ~ to the grave, it affects you throughout your life.
The bond of brotherhood was one to last from the ~ to the grave.
PHRASE: PHR after v