cradle

(krādˈl)

1. A small low bed for an infant, often furnished with rockers.
2. a. The earliest period of life: had an interest in music almost from the cradle.
   b. A place of origin; a birthplace: the cradle of civilization.
3. a. A framework of wood or metal used to support something, such as a ship undergoing construction or repair.
   b. A framework used to protect an injured limb.
4. A low flat framework that rolls on casters, used by a mechanic working beneath an automobile. Also called creeper.
5. The part of a telephone that contains the connecting switch upon which the receiver and mouthpiece unit is supported.
6. a. A frame projecting above a scythe, used to catch grain as it is cut so that it can be laid flat.
   b. A scythe equipped with such a frame.
7. A boxlike device furnished with rockers, used for washing gold-bearing dirt.

1. a. To place or retain in or as if in a cradle.
   b. To care for or nurture in infancy.
   c. To hold or support protectively: cradled the cat in his arms.
2. To reap (grain) with a cradle.
3. To place or support (a ship, for example) in a cradle.
4. To wash (gold-bearing dirt) in a cradle.

Related Forms:

• craˈdler noun