nursery

[nur-suh-ree]

noun

plural

nurseries 

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.

nursery

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• prenursery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nursery¹

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

Example Sentences

Shop for houseplants in Highland Park I love to shop for plants at Echo Garden, a family-run nursery on York in Highland Park.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The spokesperson said the government was introducing Neighbourhood Health Services in communities, which would "work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries and colleges to offer timely support to children, young people and their families".

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The plants were too dead for the nursery to sell.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Funding was secured in 2023 to build a "like-for-like" replacement school on the Isle of Mull to replace the dilapidated Tobermory High School, which also houses a primary and nursery school.

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But Hopscotch Nurseries in Seaford says a funding shortfall and an increase in food and electricity bills mean many independent nurseries now struggle to offer the pay rates needed to attract and retain top staff.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• playroom 
• preschool