nest Hear it!

nest Definition

nest (nest)

noun

  1. the structure made or the place chosen by birds for laying their eggs and sheltering their young
    1. the place used by turtles, hornets, fish, etc. for spawning or breeding
    2. the structure made or the place chosen by any of certain wild animals as its home a squirrel's nest
  3. a cozy or snug place in which to live or rest; retreat
    1. a haunt or den: used esp. in an unfavorable sense
    2. the people who frequent such a place a nest of criminals
  5. a brood, swarm, or colony of birds, insects, etc.
  6. a set or series of similar things, each fitting within the one next larger

Etymology: ME < OE, akin to Ger nest < IE *nizdos (< base *ni-, down + *sed-, to sit) > L nidus, Welsh nyth

intransitive verb

  1. to build or live in or as in a nest
  2. to fit one into another
  3. to hunt for birds' nests: usually in the present participle

transitive verb

  1. to make a nest for
  2. to place or settle in or as in a nest
  3. to fit (an object) closely within another
  4. Comput. to embed (a loop, subroutine, etc.) between the first and last instructions of another

nest Related Forms
nest′·able adjective
nest Synonyms

nest

n.

den, lair, haunt, cradle, aerie, womb, incubator; see also retreat 2.

nest Usage Examples

Object

  • bifolios: Single gathering of 14 nested bifolios ( = 28 ff. ), unstitched; Talbot himself has numbered the bifolios ' 1-14 ' .
  • seabird: The view of the famous Boatswain Bird Island with its thousands of nesting seabirds was absolutely fantastic.

Converse of object

  • machine-gun: Today, the outline of a trench is clearly visible, along with machine-gun nests and bunkers.
  • crow: You can climb the mast to a ' crows nest ' , or swim from the stern marina platform.

Adjective modifier

  • occupied: Glen Ogle There may be an occupied nest on White Wall on ' The Dark Side ' .
  • cup-shaped: The cup-shaped nest is made from dry grasses and lined with finer grasses and hair.
  • artificial: As well as the artificial nests on the reserve there is much scattered woodland with many suitable trees.

Modifies a noun

  • egg: A nest egg Meaning Savings, set aside for later use.

Noun used with modifier

  • wasp: Go out & knock down wasps nest with rake, feeling guilty.
  • ant: Wood ant nests are a common sight in some parts of the Caledonian Forest.
  • osprey: From there on in, and to this very day, RSPB volunteers guard osprey nests around the clock during the nesting season.
  • bumblebee: It has taken almost a year to train him to find bumblebee nests.
  • termite: Now, the two cities thrive like termite nests.

Possessives

  • hornet: You're right, the whole issue has stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest.
  • crow: He stoically directed stringing and knotting from his crow's nest - and withstood the storm of advice and chatter from below.
  • wasp: At this school one summer a wasps ' nest appeared in the rabbit area.
  • cuckoo: Than your opponent be doing something the cuckoo's nest a parents ' myth.
  • ant: The Council will treat black and red ants ' nests in domestic properties.

Preposition: of

  • viper: I found the whole Ramallah situation this time round like a nest of vipers.
nest Quotes

Speech is often barren; but silence also does not necessarily brood over a full nest.Your still fowl, blinking at youwithout remark, mayall thewhilebesittingonone addled egg; and when it takes to cackling will have nothing to announce but that addled delusion.

—Eliot, George pseudonym of  MaryAnn Evans

It's like building a nest. First she thinks about it, then she begins to gather the materials, then she begins to put it together.

—O'Connor, (Mary) Flannery

O tell her, Swallow that thy brood is flown: Say to her, I do but wanton in the South, But in the North long since my nest is made.

—Tennyson

   Sir, we are a nest of singing birds.

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson

Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?

—Wordsworth,William

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

—Kesey, Ken Elton

How amiable are thy tabernacles,O L of hosts! 96 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the L: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, thesparrow hath found anhouse, and theswallowa nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars,O L of hosts, my King, and my God.

—Bible (Old Testament)

Browse dictionary entries near nest

  1. ‹ Nesselrode
  2. ‹ -ness
  3. ‹ ness
  4. ‹ nescient
  5. ‹ nescience
  6. ‹ Nesbit
  7. ‹ nervy
  8. ‹ nervure
  9. ‹ nervousness
  10. ‹ nervously
  1. nest egg ›
  2. nester ›
  3. nestle ›
  4. nestling ›
  5. Nestor ›
  6. Nestorianism ›
  7. net ›
  8. net adds ›
  9. net asset value ›
  10. net capital rule ›