aerie
Americannoun
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the nest of a bird of prey, as an eagle or a hawk.
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a lofty nest of any large bird.
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a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain.
They felt protected from invaders in the hilltop aerie.
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an apartment or office on a high floor in a high-rise building.
a penthouse aerie with a spectacular view.
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Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aerie
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, -y 3; compare Medieval Latin aerea, aeria “aerie, brood,” from Old French aire
Explanation
An aerie is the nest of a large bird of prey somewhere high up, such as the branch of a tree or a clifftop. Don't confuse aerie with airy, meaning spacious and well ventilated (though it's a safe bet that given their location most aeries are exactly that). The word also has the meaning of a human residence that's perched high up — particularly an artist's garret, for example, in the eaves of a building.
Vocabulary lists containing aerie
Words of a Feather: Unflappable Avian Vocabulary
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A Walk in the Woods
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
President Trump was also in attendance, up in a skybox aerie in Madison Square Garden.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
It will be interesting to see where Thorne lands after leaving an aerie like this.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 15, 2025
“How you like us so far?” joked Paul Reiser, the actor and comedian, from one corner of a squishy sofa in McDonald’s Santa Barbara, Calif., aerie on a recent Tuesday morning.
From New York Times • May 9, 2024
He heard about the nest — and along with trips to sites such as Muir Woods and Yosemite — the two took a pilgrimage to the aerie.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2023
Frightful came home with a rabbit and dropped it in the aerie.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
