I. cud ‧ dle 1 /ˈkʌdl/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from cull , coll 'to hug' (14-18 centuries) , from Old French coler , from col 'neck' ]
to hold someone or something very close to you with your arms around them, especially to show that you love them ⇨ hug :
Dawn and her boyfriend were cuddling on the sofa.
cuddle up phrasal verb
to lie or sit very close to someone or something
cuddle up to/together
The children cuddled up to each other for warmth.
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THESAURUS
▪ hug ( also give somebody a hug ) to put your arms around someone and hold them tightly to show love or friendship:
Mother hugged him and tucked him into bed.
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Come here and give me a big hug.
▪ embrace to put your arms around someone and hold him or her in a caring way. Embrace is more formal than hug :
Jason warmly embraced his son.
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The two leaders embraced each other.
▪ cuddle to put your arms around someone or something as a sign of love, especially a child or a small animal:
She sat on a chair, cuddling her daughter.
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He cuddled the puppy.
▪ put your arms around somebody to hold someone closely to your body, especially to comfort them or show that you love them:
The woman put her arms around the sobbing boy.
▪ cradle written to hold someone very gently in your arms, like you would hold a baby:
She held the baby in her arms.
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She cradled his head in her hands and kissed him on the forehead
II. cuddle 2 BrE AmE noun [singular]
an act of cuddling someone ⇨ hug :
Come over here and let me give you a cuddle.