Definition of "hug" []

• To clasp or hold closely, especially in the arms, as in affection; embrace. (verb-transitive)
• To hold steadfastly to; cherish: He still hugs his outmoded beliefs. (verb-transitive)
• To stay close to: a sailboat hugging the shore. (verb-transitive)
• To embrace or cling together closely. (verb-intransitive)
• A close, affectionate embrace. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "after reading this i totally wanted to give you a hug...but since youre so far away an internet hug will have to suffice *big hug*"
• "Burt engineers another crisis, this time involving the missing baby, to get yet another hug from Jimmy, who finally has to acknowledge, when cradling Hope, that "a hug is a powerful thing.""
• "More thankfully still, when it does, Lincoln's first question to me the next morning is whether I was able to help the person I was trying to save, and when I say no, as I usually do, he gives me a squawk, which is what they call a hug on "SpongeBob", and tells me he hopes I have better luck next time."