nidus

[ nahy-duhs ]

/ ˈnaɪ dəs /

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noun, plural ni·di

[nahy-dahy]. /ˈnaɪ daɪ/.

a nest, especially one in which insects, spiders, etc., deposit their eggs.

a place or point in an organism where a germ or other organism can develop or breed.

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Origin of nidus

1735–45; <Latin nīdusnest

OTHER WORDS FROM nidus

nidal, adjective

Words nearby nidus

nidicolous, nidificate, nidifugous, nidify, nid-nod, nidus, nidus avis, Nidwalden, Niebuhr, niece, Niederösterreich

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use nidus in a sentence

The plants, however, have a particular existence, independent of their putrefying nidus.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
Remember, pollen-tubes protrude within anther in Neottia nidus-avis.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
Curetting should follow dilatation, in the hope that the new endometrium formed may afford a better nidus for the ovum.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
His post-mortem examinations led him to believe that the intestines were the nidus of the disease.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 467, December 13, 1884|Various

To some of them was attached a nidus of eggs, which was deposited between the animal and the spire.
Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836|Robert FitzRoy

British Dictionary definitions for nidus

nidus

/ (ˈnaɪdəs) /

noun plural -di (-daɪ)

the nest in which insects or spiders deposit their eggs

pathol a focus of infection

a cavity in which plant spores develop

Derived forms of nidus

nidal, adjective

Word Origin for nidus

C18: from Latin nest

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

Medical definitions for nidus

nidus

[ nī′dəs ]

n. pl. ni•dus•es

A central point or focus of bacterial growth in a living organism.

A nest, especially one for the eggs of insects, spiders, pathogenic organisms, or small animals.

A cavity where spores develop.

A point or place at which something originates, accumulates, or develops, as the center around which calculi form.