coddle

verb

cod·​dle ˈkä-dᵊl 

coddled; coddling ˈkäd-liŋ 

ˈkä-dᵊl-iŋ

transitive verb

1

: to cook (something, such as eggs) in liquid slowly and gently just below the boiling point

coddled the eggs for the Caesar salad

2

: to treat with extreme or excessive care or kindness : pamper

accused the court of coddling criminals

colleges that coddle their athletes

coddler

ˈkäd-lər 

ˈkä-dᵊl-ər

noun

Synonyms

• boil
• parboil
• poach
• simmer
• stew

Examples of coddle in a Sentence

The judges were accused of coddling criminals.

a hearty, traditional breakfast that included coddled eggs

Recent Examples on the Web

As the president of NBC Universal, Zucker coddled Trump and treated him like a TV star as big as Jennifer Aniston. —Ramin Setoodeh, Washington Post, 17 June 2024

The Bears have been guilty of coddling some of their players, definitely quarterbacks, in the past. —Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2024

Second, perceptions of domestic political risk led even officials sympathetic to Third World aspirations to tread carefully lest they be tarred with coddling communism. —Erez Manela, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021

Maybe those are the elusive margin voters who will determine the fate of America — older folks in places such as Michigan who think criminal justice reform is soft-talk for coddling bad guys. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps altered from caudle "to administer a caudle to," verbal derivative of caudle

Note: The meaning "to pamper," earlier "to treat as if in need of nursing," attested from the second half of the 18th century, cannot be related with certainty to the cooking sense and may be of distinct origin.

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

coddle

verb

cod·​dle ˈkäd-ᵊl 

coddled; coddling ˈkäd-liŋ 

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to cook slowly in water below the boiling point

coddle eggs

2

: to treat with excessive care or kindness