nursery

American  

[nur-suh-ree] / ˈnɜr sə ri /

noun

nurseries plural

1. a room or place set apart for young children.

2. a nursery school or day nursery.

3. a place where young trees or other plants are raised for transplanting, for sale, or for experimental study.

4. any place in which something is bred, nourished, or fostered.

   The art institute has been the nursery of much great painting.

5. any situation, condition, circumstance, practice, etc., serving to breed or foster something.

   Slums are nurseries for young criminals.

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nursery British  

/ ˈnɜːsrɪ /

noun

1. 1. a room in a house set apart for use by children

   2. ( as modifier )

      nursery wallpaper

2. a place where plants, young trees, etc, are grown commercially

3. an establishment providing residential or day care for babies and very young children; crèche

4. short for nursery school

5. anywhere serving to foster or nourish new ideas, etc

6. Also called: nursery cannon.  billiards

   1. a series of cannons with the three balls adjacent to a cushion, esp near a corner pocket

   2. a cannon in such a series

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prenursery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nurseries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nursery

First recorded in 1350–1400, nursery is from the Middle English word norcery. See nurse, -ery

Explanation

In a nursery, you're going to find a lot of growth — and either babies or plants. The word nurse is a clue to the meaning of nursery: nurses take care of people, and a nursery is a place of caretaking. One kind of nursery is for babies: it's a child's room with a crib and lots of baby toys. The other kind of nursery is for plants: this type of nursery usually has glass walls and a roof, plus everything plants need to be healthy. Nurseries keep plants or babies safe so they can grow.

Example Sentences

Julie, who owns the nursery, is delightful and has a wide variety of milkweed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2026

But since then, Dáibhin has got on with life - and started nursery as planned last September.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

If a nursery provider does not comply, Ofsted says it has the power to refuse, cancel and/or impose conditions on a nursery's registrations, external.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026

Researchers have discovered that future queens are raised inside specially designed nursery chambers built by young worker bees.

From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026

She was able to get the day off from the plant nursery for this.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Related Words

• playroom
• preschool