nest

[nest]

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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 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.

Nearby words

Origin of nest

before 900; Middle English, Old English (cognate with Dutch, German nest; akin to Latin nīdus nest, Old Irish net, Welsh nyth, Sanskrit nīḍa lair) ≪ Indo-European *nizdo- bird's nest, equivalent to *ni down (see nether) + *zd-, variant of *sd-, ablaut variant of *sed-, v. base meaning “sit” (see sit¹) + *-o- theme vowel

Related formsnest·a·ble, adjectivenest·er, nounnest·like, adjectivenest·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nest

Unlike Brunner, Remer was itinerant, and spent much time in that other nest of postwar Nazis—Cairo.
Hitler’s Henchmen in Arabia|Guy Walters|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mark Reay is a handsome model-turned-photographer who is homeless, living in a secret ‘nest’ on top of an apartment building.
This Fashion World Darling Is Homeless|Erica Wagner|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And an eaglet does not start off flying from the ground, but from the nest.
He Faces Jail for Rescuing Baby Eagles|Michael Daly|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The two eaglets almost certainly would have died after a big storm wrecked their nest last year.
He Faces Jail for Rescuing Baby Eagles|Michael Daly|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He found one, a male, maybe 50 yards from the nest with no obvious injuries.
He Faces Jail for Rescuing Baby Eagles|Michael Daly|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Only the cuckoo of our common birds builds so flimsy a nest as the dove's adored darling.
Birds Every Child Should Know|Neltje Blanchan
Jest like a hornet's nest: shake a stick at ary one o' the group, an' they all come buzzin' round te'ble miffy in less 'n no time.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864|Various
The making and re-making of the nest was learnt on kindergarten principles.
"Wee Tim'rous Beasties"|Douglas English
"I must not disobey mama," Clare murmured, without looking up from the nest her cheek had made on his bosom.
The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Complete|George Meredith
It is said that the nest is sometimes built in the crevices of cliffs or in hollow trees.
Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 1 [January 1902]|Various

British Dictionary definitions for nest

nest

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 habitatan ants' nest

a place fostering something undesirablea nest of thievery

the people in such a placea nest of thieves

a cosy or secluded place

a set of things, usually of graduated sizes, designed to fit togethera nest of tables

military a weapon emplacementa machine-gun nest

verb

(intr) to make or inhabit a nest

(intr) to hunt for birds' nests

(tr) to place in a nest

Derived Formsnester, nounnestlike, adjective

Word Origin for nest

Old English; related to Latin nīdus (nest) and to beneath, sit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nest

nest

Old English nest "bird's nest, snug retreat," also "young bird, brood," from Proto-Germanic *nistaz (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch nest, German Nest), from PIE *nizdo- (cf. Sanskrit nidah "resting place, nest," Latin nidus "nest," Old Church Slavonic gnezdo, Old Irish net, Welsh nyth, Breton nez "nest"), probably from *ni "down" + *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).

Used since Middle English in reference to various accumulations of things (e.g. a nest of drawers, early 18c.). Nest egg "retirement savings" is from 1700, originally "a real or artificial egg left in a nest to induce the hen to go on laying there" (c.1600).

nest

Old English nistan "to build nests," from Proto-Germanic *nistijanan, from the source of nest (n.). The modern verb is perhaps a new formation in Middle English from the noun. Related: Nested; nesting.

Idioms and Phrases with nest

nest

see empty nest; feather one's nest; foul one's nest; stir up a hornet's nest.

nest

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Origin of nest

Examples from the Web for nest

nest

noun

verb

Word Origin for nest

nest

nest

nest