nest

[nest]

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

British Dictionary definitions for nestable

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 nestable

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.

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).

Idioms and Phrases with nestable

nest

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