wrap in cotton wool
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To protect someone excessively from harm or difficulty
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
bảo vệ ai đó quá mức khỏi tổn thương hoặc khó khăn
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to encase in cotton wool
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
She wraps her children in cotton wool, never letting them play outside
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “wrap in cotton wool” mean?
To protect someone excessively from harm or difficulty Literally: to encase in cotton wool
Is “wrap in cotton wool” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.