Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - cradle

~1 n 1 »BED« a small bed for a baby, especially one that you can move gently from side to side  (She rocked the cradle to quieten the child.) 2 the cradle of the place where something important began  (Athens is often regarded as the cradle of democracy.) 3 from/in the cradle from or in the earliest years of your life  (Sara had learned that language from the cradle.) 4 from the cradle to the grave all through your life  (a promise of security from the cradle to the grave) 5 BrE a structure that people working on the sides of high buildings stand in which can be moved up and down  (a window-cleaner's cradle) 6 the part of a telephone where the part that you hold in your hand is put when it is not being used  (- see also cat's cradle, rob the cradle rob (5)) ~2 v to hold something gently in your hands or arms, as if to protect it  (John cradled the baby in his arms. | The wine-glass looked tiny cradled in his big hands.)