warren
1 Americannoun
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a place where rabbits breed or abound.
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a building or area containing many tenants in limited or crowded quarters.
noun
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Earl, 1891–1974, U.S. lawyer and political leader: chief justice of the U.S. 1953–69.
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Joseph, 1741–75, American physician, statesman, and patriot.
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Mercy Otis, 1728–1814, U.S. historian and poet (sister of James Otis).
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Robert Penn, 1905–89, U.S. novelist and poet: named the first U.S. poet laureate (1986–87).
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a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit.
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a city in NE Ohio, NW of Youngstown.
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a city in NW Pennsylvania.
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a town in E Rhode Island.
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a male given name: from a Germanic word meaning “protection.”
noun
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a series of interconnected underground tunnels in which rabbits live
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a colony of rabbits
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an overcrowded area or dwelling
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an enclosed place where small game animals or birds are kept, esp for breeding, or a part of a river or lake enclosed by nets in which fish are kept (esp in the phrase beasts or fowls of warren )
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English legal history a franchise permitting one to keep animals, birds, or fish in this way
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noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of warren
1350–1400; Middle English warenne < Anglo-French; Old French g ( u ) arenne < Germanic *warinne game park, equivalent to *war- (base of *warjan to defend) + *-inne feminine noun suffix
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.
Bari Vecchia—or “old” Bari—is a dizzying but inviting warren of white-stone alleyways and sunny piazzas that make up the historic heart of the city.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025
The new arrivals were often broke or close to it, and instantly found themselves in a crowded warren of streets that catered to their basest needs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2025
But then it continued, traveling to the purgatorial police station, making its way into the institutional warren that represents a new reality for these characters, and the plan became clear, and interesting.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2025
This is the sound of Panyu, the neighbourhood known as the "Shein village", a warren of factories that power the world's largest fast fashion retailer.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2025
“But we’ve got to try it, that’s certain. There’s nothing else that’ll save the warren now.”
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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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.