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nest
[ nest ]
noun
- a pocketlike, usually more or less circular structure of twigs, grass, mud, etc., formed by a bird, often high in a tree, as a place in which to lay and incubate its eggs and rear its young; any protected place used by a bird for these purposes.
- a place used by insects, fishes, turtles, rabbits, etc., for depositing their eggs or young.
- a number of birds, insects, animals, etc., inhabiting one such place.
- a snug retreat or refuge; resting place; home.
- an assemblage of things lying or set close together, as a series of boxes or trays, that fit within each other:
a nest of tables.
- a place where something bad is fostered or flourishes: a robber's nest.
a nest of vice;
a robber's nest.
- the occupants or frequenters of such a place.
verb (used with object)
- to settle or place (something) in or as if in a nest:
to nest dishes in straw.
- to fit or place one within another:
to nest boxes for more compact storage.
verb (used without object)
- to build or have a nest:
The swallows nested under the eaves.
- to settle in or as if in a nest.
- to fit together or within another or one another:
bowls that nest easily for storage.
- to search for or collect nests:
to go nesting.
- Computers. to place a routine inside another routine that is at a higher hierarchical level.
nest
/ nɛst /
noun
- a place or structure in which birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, mice, etc, lay eggs or give birth to young
- a number of animals of the same species and their young occupying a common habitat
an ants' nest
- a place fostering something undesirable
a nest of thievery
- the people in such a place
a nest of thieves
- a cosy or secluded place
- a set of things, usually of graduated sizes, designed to fit together
a nest of tables
- military a weapon emplacement
a machine-gun nest
verb
- intr to make or inhabit a nest
- intr to hunt for birds' nests
- tr to place in a nest
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Derived Forms
- ˈnester, noun
- ˈnestˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From
- nesta·ble adjective
- nester noun
- nestlike adjective
- nesty adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of nest1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of nest1
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Idioms and Phrases
see empty nest ; feather one's nest ; foul one's nest ; stir up a hornet's nest .Discover More
Example Sentences
Unlike Brunner, Remer was itinerant, and spent much time in that other nest of postwar Nazis—Cairo.
Mark Reay is a handsome model-turned-photographer who is homeless, living in a secret ‘nest’ on top of an apartment building.
And an eaglet does not start off flying from the ground, but from the nest.
When he approached the wrecked nest, Patterson saw one of the eaglets on the exposed ground near the base of the tree.
He then spoke to the state police, who proved to be aware of the fallen nest.
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Almost as soon as she had finished building her nest she had discovered a strange-looking egg there.
The grass had a delightful fragrance, like new-mown hay, and was neatly wound around the tunnel, like the inside of a bird's-nest.
And away she flew to her nest, leaving Grandfather Mole to talk to the air, if he wished.
Weimar being such a "kleines Nest (little nest)," as Liszt calls it, every stranger is immediately remarked.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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