HUGGING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hugging mean? 

• HUGGING (noun)
  The noun HUGGING has 1 sense:

1. affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)

  Familiarity information: HUGGING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HUGGING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

caressing; cuddling; fondling; hugging; kissing; necking; petting; smooching; snuggling

Hypernyms ("hugging" is a kind of...):

arousal; foreplay; stimulation (mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hugging"):

snogging ((British informal) cuddle and kiss)

Derivation:

hug (hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness)

 Context examples 

"No, you won't!" cried Jo, hugging her close, with a frightened look.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“You see,” he said, still hugging himself in that unpleasant way, and shaking his head at me, “you're quite a dangerous rival, Master Copperfield. You always was, you know.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

As the researchers watched, the cluster slowly flattened, hugging the apparatus.

(Bees Help Researchers Confirm Theory about Maintaining Protective Clumps under Tough Conditions, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

“No shifting, nothing shy, no hugging nor hauling. It’s a shame to let him fight. Take the brave fellow away!”

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This hugging distance means that the planet is football shaped due to gravitational tidal forces.

(Hubble Uncovers a ‘Heavy Metal’ Exoplanet Shaped Like a Football, NASA)

I sat up half the night hugging myself over it, and next day I was off to Birmingham in a train that would take me in plenty time for my appointment.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This finding led the researchers to conclude that a light-absorbing gaseous form of titanium oxide, commonly found in this class of star-hugging, gas giant planet known as a hot Jupiter, has been removed from the dayside's atmosphere.

(Hubble Observes Exoplanet that Snows Sunscreen, NASA)

We didn't open it, but we are dying to know what he says, cried Jo, hugging her sister and offering the note.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

And I recollect two bursting to the opposite side of the parlour, while she was hugging me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Oh, she did look so funny, hugging the big, slippery fish, and hoping Mr. Laurence's bed in heaven would be 'aisy'.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)