aerie

or aer·y

[ air-ee, eer-ee ]
See synonyms for aerie on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural aer·ies.
  1. the nest of a bird of prey, as an eagle or a hawk.

  2. a lofty nest of any large bird.

  1. a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain: They felt protected from invaders in the hilltop aerie.

  2. an apartment or office on a high floor in a high-rise building: a penthouse aerie with a spectacular view.

  3. Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.

Origin of aerie

1
First recorded in 1575–85; from Anglo-French, Old French airie, equivalent to aire (from Latin ager “field,” presumably “nest” in Vulgar Latin ) + ie; see origin at acre, -y3; compare Medieval Latin aerea, aeria “aerie, brood,” from Old French aire
  • Also eyr·ie, eyr·y .

Words that may be confused with aerie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aerie in a sentence

  • We have no right to call in a aeries of miracles to solve difficulties of which the writer was unconscious.

    The Bible: what it is | Charles Bradlaugh
  • They lay their eggs, which are generally of an oval shape, in rude nests called "aeries."

    Reptiles and Birds | Louis Figuier
  • The imperial eagles, gilded anew, were poised for flight back to their native aeries.

    The Missourian | Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle

British Dictionary definitions for aerie

aerie

/ (ˈɛərɪ, ˈɪərɪ) /


noun
  1. a variant spelling (esp US) of eyrie

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012