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.

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

Related Words for nest

burrow, refuge, den, lair, aerie, roost, haunt, hideaway

Examples from the Web for nest

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of nest

The guillemot makes no nest, merely laying a single egg on a ledge.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home
The Egret settled to her nest again and the Pelican went on with the story.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
She was shaking the nest of a field mouse from one of the side pockets.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
How sweetly he sang to the mother bird while she sat upon the nest!
Opera Stories from Wagner
Florence Akin
You saw no Sammons in that damned snake's nest, I'll be bound!
In the Valley
Harold Frederic

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

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).

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.