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

• prenursery
  adjective

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

Researchers first photographed it in 2003 at Brazil's Abrolhos Bank, the country's main humpback whale nursery off the coast of Bahia.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

Noticing that the outdoor space got just enough light to wring out some tomatoes, we headed to the nursery to top off our nest.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

She bought a special recipe book to make her own organic baby food and stocked the nursery with aesthetically pleasing, developmentally appropriate books and building blocks.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Trump's spokeswoman -- who is best known for her acid put-downs of journalists -- posted a picture of herself in a nursery, cradling her baby daughter to her chest.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

“Oh—there’s a nursery just down the highway. They had the most gorgeous begonias, and they let me have a cutting. I went during my lunch break.”

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

Related Words

• playroom
• preschool