Nidify
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To make a nest.
"It is only within the last few years that naturalists have clearly determined that some species of fish make nests for the reception of their spawn […] Five or six kinds are now ascertained to nidify; and of these, two belong to the genus Gasterosteus […]"
Example
More examples"It is only within the last few years that naturalists have clearly determined that some species of fish make nests for the reception of their spawn […] Five or six kinds are now ascertained to nidify; and of these, two belong to the genus Gasterosteus […]"
Etymology
First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin nīdificō (“to build a nest”), from nīdus (“nest”) + -ficō (“to make, build”). Doublet of nidificate and cognate with French nidifier.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.