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# cockle

noun (a cockle, cockles)

«cockle» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small edible shellfish with two ribbed, heart-shaped shells, found in sand on beaches. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#m1)
2. (idiom) «It warms the cockles of my heart» means it makes me feel happy and loved. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#m2)
3. A small light boat (also called a cockleshell). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and seaside lessons cockles are molluscs that live buried in wet sand. The Irish song «Molly Malone» has «cockles and mussels, alive, alive-o». The heartwarming idiom is used in everyday British, Irish and Australian talk.

### Examples

- We found empty cockle shells on the beach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x1)
- Cockles bury themselves in wet sand. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x2)
- Molly Malone sold cockles and mussels in Dublin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x3)
- Your kind letter warmed the cockles of my heart. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x4)
- People in Wales still gather cockles at low tide. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x5)
- The tiny cockle bobbed on the waves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/#x6)

### Note

Countable: one cockle, two cockles. The idiom always uses the plural: «the cockles of your heart». A cockle is a mollusc, an animal without a backbone, like mussels and clams.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cockle» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockle/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cockle» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cockle.html) on Mova free.