swaddle

verb

swad·​dle ˈswä-dᵊl 

swaddled; swaddling

ˈswäd-liŋ,

ˈswä-dᵊl-iŋ 

transitive verb

1

a

: to wrap (an infant) with swaddling clothes

b

: envelop, swathe

legs swaddled in bandages

2

: restrain, restrict

marriage … swaddled him in a domesticity he came to loathe

—Nina Auerbach

Examples of swaddle in a Sentence

He swaddled the baby in a blanket.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sure, some grandmothers can bake a mean cookie, crochet blankets that could swaddle a small country, or know their way around a jigsaw puzzle. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025

The image of an infant wearing a white outfit and swaddled in a pink blanket looked much like that was taken by Princess Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and released by Buckingham Palace to announce Athena's birth in January. —Janine Henni, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025

The blankets with blue and pink stripes once swaddled Carlos Jr. and Andrés at a hospital in San Jose. —Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 15 Jan. 2025

Eventually, the swan was backed up against a median barrier as at least seven people stood nearby, monitoring the situation, before it was swaddled up into a large blanket. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English swadelen, swathelen, probably alteration of swedelen, swethelen, from swethel swaddling band, from Old English; akin to Old English swathian to swathe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for swaddle

• caudal
• caudle
• dawdle
• model
• twaddle
• waddle
• remodel

Kids Definition

swaddle

verb

swad·​dle ˈswäd-ᵊl 

swaddled; swaddling ˈswäd-liŋ 

-ᵊl-iŋ

: to wrap an infant with swaddling clothes