What does "nest" mean?
A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
Nest
/nɛst/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
- Grammar: nest is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: a mass of, a world of, abide, abiding place.
- Useful contrasts: abandon, danger, disperse.
- Usage evidence: The hen was sitting on the eggs in the nest.
How to use "nest"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nest" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "nest" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "nest" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nest" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "nest" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a mass of" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "nest", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
- 2 Initialism of native English-speaking teacher. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 a kind of gun emplacement wordnet
- 4 A place used by a monotreme, fish, amphibian or insect, for depositing eggs and hatching young.
- 5 furniture pieces made to fit close together wordnet
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 A snug, comfortable, or cosy residence or job situation.
- 7 a gang of people (criminals or spies or terrorists) assembled in one locality wordnet
- 8 A retreat, or place of habitual resort.
- 9 a cosy or secluded retreat wordnet
- 10 A hideout for bad people to frequent or haunt; a den.
"a nest of thieves"
- 11 a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young wordnet
- 12 A home that a child or young adult shares with a parent or guardian.
"I am aspiring to leave the nest."
- 13 A fixed number of cards in some bidding games awarded to the highest bidder allowing him to exchange any or all with cards in his hand.
"I was forced to change trumps when I found the ace, jack, and nine of diamonds in the nest."
- 14 A fortified position for a weapon.
"a machine gun nest"
- 15 A structure consisting of nested structures, such as nested loops or nested subroutine calls.
"Subroutine 4 cannot jump out of the subroutine nest in one step. Each return address must be popped from the stack in the order in which it was pushed onto the stack."
- 16 A circular bed of pasta, rice, etc. to be topped or filled with other foods.
- 17 An aggregated mass of any ore or mineral, in an isolated state, within a rock.
- 18 A collection of boxes, cases, or the like, of graduated size, each put within the one next larger.
- 19 A compact group of pulleys, gears, springs, etc., working together or collectively.
- 20 The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself. US, slang, vulgar
Verb
- 1 To build or settle into a nest. intransitive
- 2 gather nests wordnet
- 3 To settle into a home. intransitive
"We loved the new house and were nesting there in two days!"
- 4 move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position wordnet
- 5 To successively neatly fit inside another. intransitive
"I bought a set of nesting mixing bowls for my mother."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 fit together or fit inside wordnet
- 7 To place in, or as if in, a nest. transitive
- 8 inhabit a nest, usually after building wordnet
- 9 To place one thing neatly inside another, and both inside yet another (and so on). transitive
"There would be much more room in the attic if you had nested all the empty boxes."
- 10 To hunt for birds' nests or their contents (usually "go nesting"). intransitive
"After the first heavy frost, when acorns were falling, I took a friend into partnership and went nesting."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German or Welsh.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The hen was sitting on the eggs in the nest."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nest"?
Common synonyms include: a mass of, a world of, abide, abiding place, abode, address.
How do you use "nest" in a sentence?
The hen was sitting on the eggs in the nest.
How do you pronounce "nest"?
Pronounced /nɛst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English nest, nist, nyst, from Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą, from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”), literally "where [the bird] sits down", a compound of *ni (“down”) (whence also English nether) + the zero-grade of the root *sed- (“to sit”) (whence also English sit).
Etymology 2
From Middle English nesten, nisten, from Old English nistan, nistian, from Proto-West Germanic *nistijan (“to nest, build a nest”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian näästje (“to nest”), Dutch nesten (“to nest”), German Low German nüsten (“to nest”), German nisten (“to nest”).
Etymology 3
Two possible origins: * Welsh metronymic surname, from a diminutive of the personal name Agnes. * Borrowed from German Nest (“nest”), probably a topographic surname.