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

The night the baby died, her mother appropriately swaddled her, and Malone put her in the bassinet, according to the investigation, per Fox 19. —Staff Author, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026

Rihanna broke the news in a sweet Instagram post, sharing an image of herself holding the infant, who is swaddled in a pink blanket. —Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026

After seven years of trapping, swaddling, collaring and monitoring them in the Twin Cities, Miller doesn’t think his middle-school self was far off. —Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2026

Newborn babies at a Pittsburgh hospital were swaddled in Terrible Towels on Monday to celebrate the NFL draft coming to the city. —Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026

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