Phrase guide

warm the cockles of someone's heart

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • wôrm thə kŏk′əlz əv sŭm′wənz härt′
  • Received-Pronunciation: /wɔːm ðə ˈkɒk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhɑːt/
  • Canada, General-American, cot-caught-merger: /woɹm ðə ˈkɑk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhɑɹt/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /woɹm ðə ˈkɔk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhɑɹt/ without the cot–caught merger
  • Canada: /woɹm ðə ˈkɒk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhɑɹt/ without the cot–caught merger
  • Australian: /woːm ðə ˈkɔk.əlz əv ˌsɐm.wənz ˈhɐːt/
  • AuE Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • New-Zealand: /woːm ðə ˈkɒk.əlz əv ˌsɐm.wənz ˈhɐːt/
  • Scotland: /wɔɹm ðə ˈkɔk.əlz əv ˌsʌm.wənz ˈhaɹt/
  • India: /wɔrm d̪e ˈkɔk.elz ov ˌsəm.wonz ˈhaːrt/

1

verb

Meaning 1

Especially of food or drink (particularly an alcoholic beverage): to cause someone to feel deeply warm and comfortable; to comfort, to satisfy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, idiomatic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, figuratively, idiomatic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: warm someone's cockles, warm someone's heart, beatify, enrapture, begladden, blissen, bright, cheer, fetch, cheer up, cherish, content, delight, elate, elevate, enbliss, exhilarate, fain, gay, gladden, gladden someone's heart, gratify, happify, happy, hearten, jollify, laetificate, light up, make someone's day, perk up, please, raise someone's spirits, rejoice, turn the frown upside down, upcheer, warm the cockles of someone's heart

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

PIE word *ḱḗr Either from: * the similarity of a closed cockle (“European bivalve mollusk of the family Cardiidae”) to a heart; or * a corruption of Latin cochleae (“ventricles”) in cochleae cordis (“ventricles of the heart”). The term cockles of [someone’s] heart is first attested in 1671: see the quotation.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 令人滿意 /令人满意 (lìng rén mǎnyì) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Chinese Mandarin: 讓人開心 /让人开心 (ràng rén kāixīn) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Chinese Mandarin: 讓人快樂 /让人快乐 (ràng rén kuàilè) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Finnish: lämmittää jonkun sydäntä — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • French: faire chaud au cœur — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • French: mettre du baume au cœur — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • French: réchauffer le cœur — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • German: Herz wärmen — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Italian: allargare il cuore — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Japanese: 心を温める (kokoro o atatameru) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Korean: 훈훈하게 하다 (hunhunhage hada) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Korean: 마음을 따뜻하게 하다 (ma'eumeul ttatteuthage hada) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Polish: lać miód na serce — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Portuguese: aquecer o coração — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Russian: согрева́ть се́рдце (sogrevátʹ sérdce) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Russian: согре́ть се́рдце (sogrétʹ sérdce) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Swedish: värma om hjärtat — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Ukrainian: зігріва́ти се́рце (zihriváty sérce) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness
  • Ukrainian: зігрі́ти се́рце (zihríty sérce) — to provide someone with a deep feeling of contentment or happiness