nest

[ nest ]

/ nɛst /

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See synonyms for: nest / nested / nesting on Thesaurus.com

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.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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 sit¹) + unattested -o- thematic vowel

OTHER WORDS FROM nest

nest·a·ble, adjectivenester, nounnestlike, adjectivenesty, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nest in a sentence

Happi is an orphaned orangutan in Borneo who loves papaya and building nests with sticks.
A virtual menagerie: How conservation and rescue efforts can connect us with wildlife around the world|Andrea Sachs|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
Birdwatchers in the United States and elsewhere have previously used similar barriers, or baffles, to keep snakes and raccoons away from the nest boxes in their yards.
These snakes wiggle up smooth poles by turning their bodies into ‘lassoes’|Kate Baggaley|January 13, 2021|Popular-Science
One began following the other around, and the couple eventually retired to the cage’s private retreat, a nest box.
Rats with poisonous hairdos live surprisingly sociable private lives|Susan Milius|January 12, 2021|Science News
If you take a female mouse, even if she hasn’t given birth, when you put mouse pups close to her, she will build a nest and take care of them.
Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors|Claudia Dreifus|December 14, 2020|Quanta Magazine

It actually comes from the word nicher meaning "to make a nest."
How To Pronounce The Word “Niche”|Candice Bradley|December 11, 2020|Everything After Z
Is your jeely-pan good solid copper or only one of thae nesty French things that need to be lacquered every month?
Patsy|S. R. Crockett
Repose by small fatigue is earned, and Weariness can snore upon the flint, when nesty Sloth, finds a down pillow hard.
The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life|William Kitchiner
The genus "bodie" is divided into two species—the "harmless bodies" and the "nesty bodies."
The House with the Green Shutters|George Douglas Brown
I hae had eneuch o' men—nesty, saucy, ill-favoured characters.
The Men of the Moss-Hags|S. R. Crockett

British Dictionary definitions for nest

nest

/ (nɛst) /

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 forms of nest

nester, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with nest

nest

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

nest

Origin of nest

OTHER WORDS FROM nest

Words related to nest

How to use nest in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nest

Derived forms of nest

Word Origin for nest

Other Idioms and Phrases with nest