creeper
n
1 a person or animal that creeps
2 a plant, such as the ivy or periwinkle, that grows by creeping
3 the U.S. and Canadian name for the →
tree creeper
4 a hooked instrument for dragging deep water
5 (Also called)
cradle a flat board or framework mounted on casters, used to lie on when working under cars
6 (Also called)
daisycutter (Cricket) a bowled ball that keeps low or travels along the ground
7 either of a pair of low iron supports for logs in a hearth
8 Informal a shoe with a soft sole
cat's cradle
n a game played by making intricate patterns with a loop of string between the fingers
cradle
n
1 a baby's bed with enclosed sides, often with a hood and rockers
2 a place where something originates or is nurtured during its early life
the cradle of civilization
3 the earliest period of life
they knew each other from the cradle
4 a frame, rest, or trolley made to support or transport a piece of equipment, aircraft, ship, etc.
5 a platform, cage, or trolley, in which workmen are suspended on the side of a building or ship
6 the part of a telephone on which the handset rests when not in use
7 another name for →
creeper →
5
a a framework of several wooden fingers attached to a scythe to gather the grain into bunches as it is cut
b a scythe equipped with such a cradle; cradle scythe
c a collar of wooden fingers that prevents a horse or cow from turning its head and biting itself
9 (Also called)
rocker a boxlike apparatus for washing rocks, sand, etc., containing gold or gem stones
10 (Engraving) a tool that produces the pitted surface of a copper mezzotint plate before the design is engraved upon it
11 a framework used to prevent the bedclothes from touching a sensitive part of an injured person
12 ♦
from the cradle to the grave throughout life
vb
13 tr to rock or place in or as if in a cradle; hold tenderly
14 tr to nurture in or bring up from infancy
15 tr to replace (the handset of a telephone) on the cradle
16 to reap (grain) with a cradle scythe
17 tr to wash (soil bearing gold, etc.) in a cradle
18 (Lacrosse) to keep (the ball) in the net of the stick, esp. while running with it
(Old English cradol; related to Old High German kratto basket)
♦
cradler n
cradle cap
n a form of seborrhoea of the scalp common in young babies, (Technical name)
crusta lactea
cradle snatcher
n
Informal someone who marries or has an affair with a much younger person
Newton's cradle
n an ornamental puzzle consisting of a frame in which five metal balls are suspended in such a way that when one is moved it sets all the others in motion in turn