den

¹

[den]

noun

1. the lair or shelter of a wild animal, especially a predatory mammal.

2. a room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet, comfortable, and informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, etc.

3. a cave used as a place of shelter or concealment.

4. a squalid or vile abode or place.

   dens of misery.

5. one of the units of a cub scout pack, analogous to a patrol in the Boy Scouts.

verb (used with object)

denned, denning 

1. to drive or pursue (an animal) into its den.

2. to kill (an animal) inside its den.

verb (used without object)

denned, denning 

1. to live in or as if in a den.

Den.

²

abbreviation

1. Denmark.

den

¹

/ dɛn /

noun

1. the habitat or retreat of a lion or similar wild animal; lair

2. a small or secluded room in a home, often used for carrying on a hobby

3. a squalid or wretched room or retreat

4. a site or haunt

   a den of vice

5. a small wooded valley; dingle

6. dialect,  a place of sanctuary in certain catching games; home or base

verb

1. (intr) to live in or as if in a den

Den.

²

abbreviation

1. Denmark

Word History and Origins

Origin of den¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English denn; compare early Dutch denne floor, cave, den, German Tenne floor

Word History and Origins

Origin of den¹

Old English denn; related to Old High German tenni threshing floor, early Dutch denne low ground, den, cave

Example Sentences

He keeps the piano in a small, uncluttered studio upstairs from the den at his house; that’s where he cut “Shine,” singing live as he accompanied himself in real time.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Eventually, though, she secures her newborn in the den and heads back to the bamboo thicket to feast—crucial for her own survival as well as her cub’s.

Read more on Literature

They also know not to photograph or film drug dens or any of the armed men driving through their community.

Read more on BBC

Will we see the equivalent of New York’s early-1990s crack dens?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In its famous showstopper, “Ya Got Trouble,” con man Harold Hill warns the River City townsfolk about supposed dens of immorality, and the children notice Matty in the crowd, holding a bundle.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• cave 
• hotbed 
• nest 
• sanctuary