den
noun
the lair or shelter of a wild animal, especially a predatory mammal.
den
1 American
[den]
/ dɛn /
noun
-
dens
plural
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the lair or shelter of a wild animal, especially a predatory mammal.
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a room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet, comfortable, and informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, etc.
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a cave used as a place of shelter or concealment.
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a squalid or vile abode or place.
dens of misery.
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one of the units of a cub scout pack, analogous to a patrol in the Boy Scouts.
verb (used with object)
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dens,
present (3rd person singular)
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denned,
past participle, past
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denning
present participle
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to drive or pursue (an animal) into its den.
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to kill (an animal) inside its den.
verb (used without object)
-
dens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
denned,
past participle, past
-
denning
present participle
Den.
2
American
abbreviation
den
1
British
/ dɛn /
noun
-
the habitat or retreat of a lion or similar wild animal; lair
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a small or secluded room in a home, often used for carrying on a hobby
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a squalid or wretched room or retreat
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a site or haunt
a den of vice
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a small wooded valley; dingle
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dialect a place of sanctuary in certain catching games; home or base
verb
Den.
2
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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densimple
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denssimple
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have dennedperfect
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has dennedperfect
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am denningprogressive
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are denningprogressive
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is denningprogressive
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have been denningperfect progressive
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has been denningperfect progressive
Past
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dennedsimple
-
had dennedperfect
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was denningprogressive
-
were denningprogressive
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had been denningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of den
before 1000; Middle English; Old English denn; compare early Dutch denne floor, cave, den, German Tenne floor
Explanation
Where’s the one place that bears go to hibernate and you go to watch the big game? It’s the den, a secluded room or shelter. Den is an Old English word meaning “shelter for a wild animal.” While we still use it in this sense, the word has taken on some additional meanings. For example, den can refer to a room that's used primarily for relaxing, watching television, and socializing with friends. (If your friends tend to act wild at times, then perhaps this definition isn’t so far off from the original one.) Den can also mean "a hideout for criminals."
Vocabulary lists containing den
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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Beowulf vocabulary
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3-letter words, 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.
See Examples For:
Despite their mudcat nickname, enormous catfish keep a surprisingly clean den.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Malcolm Marx trundled over at the back of a rolling maul after the interval and, three minutes later, Pieter-Steph du Toit barged over after a sharp blindside break by the impressive Van den Berg.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The 3-week-old kitten was found in his den on March 25.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom abode has a media den ideal for family movie nights or other peaceful gatherings.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Squares of light shining from inside the den glow in patches on the grass.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Jeered heading into the ring but cheered as he left, Dubois told reporters: "I was Daniel in the Lion's Den. I was unstoppable. I wasn't going to be denied."
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2024
"Leicester came to the Den. We were winning 1-0, it was on TV, and I'd scored the goal," says Dunne.
From BBC ● May 31, 2016
Come on, dear old Den.; you'll hardly believe it, but I haven't got a scratch of my own.
From With Haig on the Somme by Archibald Webb
Across Silicon Valley, work is being remade as once mellow spaces become dens of din.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
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.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2025
The organisation, along with other local groups, removes snares, safeguards dens and provides information for law enforcement on illegal trade in ivory and bushmeat.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
The hefty price of color camouflage may explain why many octopuses spend so much time hiding in dens, and why deep-sea octopuses—who live in extremely dark waters—have less vibrant chromatophore systems, the researchers suggest.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 17, 2024
Roy was hopeful that the owls would find them once they came out of their dens for supper.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
She returned to an area near Topanga Canyon, where she denned for months, beginning in October.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2025
During her time under observation, Uno probably denned more than once; she produced at least one litter, with four kittens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2024
He recommends waiting to put feeders out until there is 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground to be sure the bears denned for the winter.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2017
Time and again they denned a good foreman as one who "leaves us alone" and who "listens to you."
From Time Magazine Archive
I knew the old ringtails would be hungry and stirring for they had been denned up during the storm.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
When wolves are denning, they’re anchored to one spot — the den — upping the chances of finding them.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2025
The researchers concluded that the cave was used primarily by hibernating cave bears and denning hyenas, with only periodic human presence.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2024
Ideal denning conditions and abundant food attract the antisocial animals and force them into close quarters, where it’s common for them to poke, prod, grab and otherwise annoy one another.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
What researchers do know is that the pups stay with their mothers later into the denning season, shifting pack dynamics.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 6, 2022
They avoided other clumps of blackened trees just in case they stumbled into more holes, but each time Owen saw a burned-out denning site, he felt a pang of sadness.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
