nest
Americannoun
-
nests
plural
-
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 robber's nest.
a nest of vice;
a robber's nest.
-
the occupants or frequenters of such a place.
verb (used with object)
-
nests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nested,
past participle, past
-
nesting
present participle
-
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)
-
nests,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nested,
past participle, past
-
nesting
present participle
-
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.
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 habitat
an ants' nest
-
a place fostering something undesirable
a nest of thievery
-
the people in such a place
a nest of thieves
-
a cosy or secluded place
-
a set of things, usually of graduated sizes, designed to fit together
a nest of tables
-
military a weapon emplacement
a machine-gun nest
verb
-
(intr) to make or inhabit a nest
-
(intr) to hunt for birds' nests
-
(tr) to place in a nest
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nestsimple
-
nestssimple
-
have nestedperfect
-
has nestedperfect
-
am nestingprogressive
-
are nestingprogressive
-
is nestingprogressive
-
have been nestingperfect progressive
-
has been nestingperfect progressive
Past
-
nestedsimple
-
had nestedperfect
-
was nestingprogressive
-
were nestingprogressive
-
had been nestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nest
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English (cognate with Dutch, German nest; akin to Latin nīdus “nest,” Old Irish net, Welsh nyth, Sanskrit nīḍa “lair”), ultimately from unattested Indo-European nizdo- “bird's nest,” equivalent to unattested ni “down” ( see nether) + unattested zd-, variant of unattested sd-, ablaut variant of unattested sed-, verb base meaning “sit” ( see sit 1) + unattested -o- thematic vowel
Explanation
A nest is a shelter or other structure that an animal uses for laying eggs or giving birth. If a bird is collecting string and straw and twigs in your yard, she's probably building a nest in a nearby tree. Large birds of prey build nests that can be six feet high, in trees or on buildings, and up to three feet wide. Owls often make nests in tree hollows, while orioles build elaborate hammock-like nests that hang from branches. Foxes, mice, and raccoons also build nests, and people can make nests too, cozy spots to settle for a nap. As a verb, nest means "to build a nest or fit inside something larger."
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:
Jackie and her mate Shadow were propelled to celebrity status via a popular livestream of their nest high up in a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Turtles nest and lay their eggs on the beach while many seabirds breed on the islands, with surrounding waters home to the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale, she added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
She found a nest about "a quarter of the size it is now" and said she worked for more than two hours before calling it a day.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Yes, it overlooks a nest of alleyways, and no, management does not like people going up there, and no, I don’t know all my neighbors by name or even sight yet.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
From this crow’s nest Penelope could see everyone in the audience—and everyone could see her, she realized in dismay.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
She added that the scheme only removes one chick at a time from nests, and the birds are checked for bird flu before they are released.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The States urged islanders not to attempt to remove nests, which can expand rapidly during August and September and hold up to 2,000 hornets.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was found in the spring; wasps don’t make nests in the winter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Bumblebees usually forage within about 1.5 km of their nests, giving them fewer opportunities to avoid local pollution.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
I set him down near a blue willow full of hummingbear nests and walked away, hard as it was to do.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
Watch for clues when the storyline we’re watching becomes its own nested narrative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The first swifts have nested in boxes installed at a University of Cambridge college which is hoping to help stem the decline of the birds and a lack of natural nesting sites.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The small seabirds have nested on the beach at Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, every year since 2019.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The novellas are composed of nested stories inspired by Scheherazade’s tales in “One Thousand and One Nights.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
In the trees nested hundreds of long-shanked herons, blue ones and white ones with black wing tips.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
Paul Davies, the island's National Trust countryside manager, said a large number of nesting birds will have died as well as reptiles, small mammals and amphibians.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
This nesting season, the pair raised eaglets Sandy and Luna, who successfully fledged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
"When a dam blocks stream passage, threatened and endangered salmon suffer; when forests with nesting trees for marbled murrelets are logged, threatened murrelets slide closer to extinction," the complaint said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Yet there’s a turducken of ironies nesting in the response to Mr. Trump’s firings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“Peregrine falcons are nesting on this bridge,” Molly piped.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
