aerie

American  

[air-ee, eer-ee] / ˈɛər i, ˈɪər i /

Also eyrie, or aery

noun

• aeries
  plural

1. the nest of a bird of prey, as an eagle or a hawk.

2. a lofty nest of any large bird.

3. a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain.

   They felt protected from invaders in the hilltop aerie.

4. an apartment or office on a high floor in a high-rise building.

   a penthouse aerie with a spectacular view.

5. Obsolete. the brood in a nest, especially of a bird of prey.

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aerie British  

/ ˈɪərɪ, ˈɛərɪ /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of eyrie

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• aeries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aerie

First recorded in 1575–85; from Anglo-French, Old French airie, equivalent to aire (from Latin ager “field,” presumably “nest” in Vulgar Latin ) + ie; see origin at acre, -y ³; compare Medieval Latin aerea, aeria “aerie, brood,” from Old French aire

Explanation

An aerie is the nest of a large bird of prey somewhere high up, such as the branch of a tree or a clifftop. Don't confuse aerie with airy, meaning spacious and well ventilated (though it's a safe bet that given their location most aeries are exactly that). The word also has the meaning of a human residence that's perched high up — particularly an artist's garret, for example, in the eaves of a building.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aerie aeries

The newcomer was KD1, a 4½-year-old eagle who has since become a repeat visitor to the aerie that’s livestreamed around the clock, earning its inhabitants worldwide internet fame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

President Trump was also in attendance, up in a skybox aerie in Madison Square Garden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

It will be interesting to see where Thorne lands after leaving an aerie like this.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025

“How you like us so far?” joked Paul Reiser, the actor and comedian, from one corner of a squishy sofa in McDonald’s Santa Barbara, Calif., aerie on a recent Tuesday morning.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2024

With a last effort, she pulled herself over the aerie ledge and flopped down on her breast, wings out.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

It’s only in the last several years that academic researchers have been leaving the university aeries and flocking to industry.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023

Peregrine falcons sometimes use high-rise buildings as their aeries; ospreys can occupy man-made platforms to raise their chicks; and committees of vultures sometimes take over dumpsters, said Ms. McDonald, a 62-year-old U.S.

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2022

Many of the cave interiors have been playfully reimagined; in some, ceilings have been knocked out, creating three-story aeries.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 20, 2015

Governments should encourage people to live in modestly sized urban aeries instead of bribing home buyers into big suburban McMansions.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 17, 2011

On the narrow peninsula they met hundreds of other raptors going north to their aeries, their nests and scrapes.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George