Coddle - English meaning

noun

A very young child.

Usage examples:

His wife's just had a baby

adjective

Comparatively small or immature of its kind.

Usage examples:

A baby version of the oxford movement

verb

Treat (someone) as a baby; pamper or be overprotective towards.

Usage examples:

Her aunt babied her and fussed over her clothes

verb

Care for and protect in an overindulgent way.

Usage examples:

All her life she'd been cosseted by her family

verb

To give a lot of attention to making someone comfortable and to protecting them from anything unpleasant

Usage examples:

Children sometimes need to be cosseted., disapproving the country has been cosseted (= too protecte…

noun

The quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.

Usage examples:

His tales are full of humour

verb

Comply with the wishes of (someone) in order to keep them content, however unreasonable such wishes might be.

Usage examples:

She was always humouring him to prevent trouble

noun

The ability to find things funny, the way in which people see that some things are funny, or the quality of being funny

Usage examples:

He's got a great sense of humour (= he is very able to see things as funny)., i must say i find his…

verb

Allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of.

Usage examples:

We indulged in a cream tea

verb

To allow yourself or someone else to have something enjoyable

Usage examples:

[ i ] when i get my first paycheck i’m going to indulge in a shopping spree., [ t ] he indulged his…

verb

Treat (someone) in an indulgent or overprotective way.

Usage examples:

I found school very difficult, and realized i'd been mollycoddled at home

noun

An effeminate or ineffectual man or boy.

Usage examples:

Baseball is a game for red-blooded men and mollycoddles better stay out of it

verb

To give someone too much care or protection

Usage examples:

You're not helping the children by mollycoddling them - they have to grow up sometime.

noun

A woman in relation to her child or children.

Usage examples:

She returned to bristol to nurse her ageing mother

verb

Bring up (a child) with care and affection.

Usage examples:

She didn't know how to mother my brother and he was very sensitive

noun

A female parent

Usage examples:

My mother was 20 when i was born., mother, where’s my red blouse?, they got caught in a mother of a…

noun

A person, in particular a woman, employed to look after a child in its own home.

Usage examples:

One thing we will see a lot more of is nanny-sharing, where two families will join up to employ a n…

verb

A person, typically a woman, employed to look after a child in its own home.

verb

Have too much of something enjoyable, especially food or drink.

Usage examples:

It is easy to overindulge in these kinds of food

verb

Indulge with every attention, comfort, and kindness; spoil.

Usage examples:

Famous people just love being pampered

noun

A domestic or tamed animal kept for companionship or pleasure.

Usage examples:

The pony was a family pet

verb

Stroke or pat (an animal) affectionately.

Usage examples:

The cats came to be petted

noun

A fit of sulking or ill humour.

Usage examples:

Mother's in a pet

verb

Diminish or destroy the value or quality of.

Usage examples:

I wouldn't want to spoil your fun

noun

Goods stolen or taken forcibly from a person or place.

Usage examples:

The looters carried their spoils away

verb

To destroy or damage something, or to become destroyed or damaged

Usage examples:

[ t ] the oil spill spoiled five miles of coastline., [ t ] don’t tell me how it ends, you’ll spoil…

verb

To give someone so much help or information that the person has no opportunity to act or think independently

Usage examples:

I was being spoon-fed friendly audiences that wouldn’t give me trouble., the zookeepers were spoon-…