huddled

intransitive verb huddled, huddling

1. to crowd, push, or nestle close together, as cows do in a storm
2. to draw the limbs close to the body, as from cold: to huddle under a blanket
3. ☆ Informal to hold a private, informal conference
4. ☆ Football to gather in a huddle

Origin: orig. (16th c.), to put out of sight < ? or akin to ME hudel, var. of hidel, a hiding place < OE hydel < hydan, hide

transitive verb

1. to crowd close together
2. to hunch or draw (oneself) up
3. to do, put, or make hastily and carelessly
4. to push or thrust in a hurried or disordered manner

noun

1. a confused crowd or heap of persons or things
2. confusion; muddle; jumble
3. ☆ Informal a private, informal conference
4. ☆ Football a grouping of a team behind the line of scrimmage to receive signals before a play