nook
Americannoun
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nooks
plural
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a corner, as in a room.
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any secluded or obscure corner.
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any small recess.
a breakfast nook.
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any remote or sheltered spot.
a shady nook that was ideal for a picnic.
noun
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a corner or narrow recess, as in a room
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a secluded or sheltered place; retreat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nook
1250–1300; Middle English nok
Explanation
A nook is a cozy little corner or a small, safe area. A nook in the library can be a nice place to sit and read. If you have a "breakfast nook" in your kitchen, you know it's a space set back from the main room, maybe built into a corner or under a window, where you can sit at a small table. All nooks are small and sheltered in some way. You may have come across nook in the phrase "nook and cranny." This is often meant figuratively, as when you search every single nook and cranny in your whole house looking for your wallet.
Vocabulary lists containing nook
The BFG
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Mississippi Trial, 1955
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The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
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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:
The kitchen has more than enough cabinet and counter space, and even boasts a breakfast nook and an additional seating area.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
A reading nook looks out at Yankee Stadium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The plans revealed the kitchen’s original breakfast nook, which the couple later reinstated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Multiple fireplaces can be found throughout the dwelling, including in the charming breakfast nook, as well as in the great room.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
They drew imaginary subway maps and worked out math problems on a whiteboard the family kept in the breakfast nook.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
All the little nooks and crannies of our lives enjoy Fourth Amendment protections.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
It was there that See grew up, exploring the nooks and crannies of her grandparents’ antique shop, F. Suie One Co.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
It’s a good time to find those nooks and crannies.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
For travelers of nearly every stripe, that means turning to agents—also called advisers—who can dig up hidden nooks while snagging free upgrades, arranging local guides and ensuring seamless transfers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
So many drawers and cabinets, nooks and crannies.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
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.
