nursery

American  

[nur-suh-ree] / ˈnɜr sə ri /

noun

• nurseries
  plural

1. a room or place set apart for young children.

2. a nursery school or day nursery.

3. a place where young trees or other plants are raised for transplanting, for sale, or for experimental study.

4. any place in which something is bred, nourished, or fostered.

   The art institute has been the nursery of much great painting.

5. any situation, condition, circumstance, practice, etc., serving to breed or foster something.

   Slums are nurseries for young criminals.

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nursery British  

/ ˈnɜːsrɪ /

noun

1. 1. a room in a house set apart for use by children

   2. ( as modifier )

      nursery wallpaper

2. a place where plants, young trees, etc, are grown commercially

3. an establishment providing residential or day care for babies and very young children; crèche

4. short for nursery school

5. anywhere serving to foster or nourish new ideas, etc

6. Also called: nursery cannon. billiards

   1. a series of cannons with the three balls adjacent to a cushion, esp near a corner pocket

   2. a cannon in such a series

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prenursery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nurseries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of nursery

First recorded in 1350–1400, nursery is from the Middle English word norcery. See nurse, -ery

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Explanation

In a nursery, you're going to find a lot of growth — and either babies or plants. The word nurse is a clue to the meaning of nursery: nurses take care of people, and a nursery is a place of caretaking. One kind of nursery is for babies: it's a child's room with a crib and lots of baby toys. The other kind of nursery is for plants: this type of nursery usually has glass walls and a roof, plus everything plants need to be healthy. Nurseries keep plants or babies safe so they can grow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nursery nurseries

Educational inequality has been debated in France for 25 years, with disparities emerging as early as nursery school, Charbonnier said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

True, in the nearly two decades that she’s been creating plush figures, she’s produced charmingly minimalistic foxes, cats and buffalo fit for a nursery.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

UE Cornella, on the edge of Barcelona and in the fifth tier, is the nursery where young players grow.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

A coral nursery is providing a faint glimmer of hope and has even seen the return of plankton-feeding fish.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

This was how she came to run a nursery dedicated to growing native plants and finding habitats for them.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Coral reef recovery is a highly active area of research, with efforts ranging from using artificial nurseries to rescue reefs to finding and cultivating more heat-tolerant species.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Since April this year, parents across York have been targeted via GP surgeries, pharmacies, family hubs, schools and nurseries with information and offers of support on how to potty-train their child ahead of starting school.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Some longtime citrus growers and nurseries have set up plots of land where researchers can experiment on real trees, and gather data to help fight the disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

He began opening small nurseries, staffed by volunteers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

In the nurseries, the Elementary Class Consciousness lesson was over, the voices were adapting future demand to future industrial supply.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

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Related Words

• playroom
• preschool

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