nesting

British

/ ˈnɛstɪŋ /

noun

the tendency to arrange one's immediate surroundings, such as a work station, to create a place where one feels secure, comfortable, or in control

"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

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.

Mr. Kress’s pioneering techniques, refined since 1973, have been deployed worldwide, nowhere more intensively than in Hawaii, where predators have nearly eliminated many species of nesting seabirds.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

"We know they're nesting when we start seeing single cranes out in flight," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

“I did the nesting thing for six years,” she shares.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Jackie and Shadow are now in their eighth year nesting together.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

“She’s here. You stole her,” the attic said, communicating through creaky timbers and the chittering sounds of rodents nesting in forgotten boxes of clothing.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023