What does "nook" mean?
A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
Nook
/nʊk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
- Grammar: nook is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: alcove, alcove, alcoves, angle.
- Useful contrasts: exposed area, open coast, open space.
- Usage evidence: Will you buy a Kindle, a Nook or a Kobo eReader?
How to use "nook"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nook" 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 "nook" 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 "nook" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nook" 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 "nook" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "alcove" 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 "nook", 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 small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
"There was a small broom for sweeping ash kept in the nook between the fireplace bricks and the wall."
- 2 an interior angle formed by two meeting walls wordnet
- 3 A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.
"The back of the used book shop was one of her favorite nooks; she could read for hours and no one would bother her or pester her to buy."
- 4 a sheltered and secluded place wordnet
- 5 A recess, cove or hollow.
"Ar. Safely in harbour / Is the Kings ſhippe, in the deepe Nooke, where once / Thou calldſt me vp at midnight to fetch dewe / From the ſtill-vext Bermoothes, there ſhe's hid; [...]"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 An English unit of land area, originally ¹⁄₄ of a yardland but later 12+¹⁄₂ or 20 acres. historical
"You must note, that two Fardells of Land make a Nooke of Land, and two Nookes make halfe a Yard of Land."
- 7 A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land. Northern-England, archaic
"The ancient bounds of the cow paſture of Penrith, [...] and then from the ſaid Old Dyke end, alongſt Plumpton Dyke Eaſt over Petterel unto Plumpton park nuke, otherwiſe called Plumpton nuke; [...]"
- 8 The vagina-like genitalia of a troll, featured in Homestuck fanworks but not in canon. vulgar
"i NEEEEEEEED A NICE BIG HIGH8LOODED 8ULGE UP MY NOOK THIS SECOND!"
Verb
- 1 To withdraw into a nook.
"Mrs. Fluent was nooked with their hostess in the corner of another, a retiring woman, remarkably pretty withal, as your ministers' wives generally are, and no wonder, since the ministers, if at all popular, usually have their pick among the young lambs — we mean the young ladies — of their flocks."
- 2 To situate in a nook.
"The city of Gotham is an island, as we have said; and once it was a beautiful island, affording to the gaze of him who sailed along its shores, an agreeable mixture of rock and grove, topping hill and marshiy low ground, spakling here and there with the villas or country-houses of the wealthy Gothamites, mostly built of wood painted white, and adorned with long verandahs quite encircling them; or showing at some turn a humbler, but substantial abode, nooked under a mighty horse-chestnut, the headquarters of a milk-farm, with cattle (whose tinkling bells you could hear in the still evening) grazing on its wild up-hilly pasture-land."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A locality in Kentish council area, northern Tasmania, Australia.
Antonyms
exposed areaopen coastopen spaceopen water
Example
"Will you buy a Kindle, a Nook or a Kobo eReader?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nook"?
Common synonyms include: alcove, alcove, alcoves, angle, apex, asylum.
How do you use "nook" in a sentence?
Will you buy a Kindle, a Nook or a Kobo eReader?
How do you pronounce "nook"?
Pronounced /nʊk/.
Etymology
From Middle English noke, nok (“nook, corner, angle”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old English hnoc, hnocc (“hook, angle”), from Proto-Germanic *hnukkaz, *hnukkô (“a bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *knewg- (“to turn, press”), from Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“to pinch, press, bend”). If so, then also related to Scots nok (“small hook”), Norwegian dialectal nok, nokke (“hook, angle, bent object”), Danish nok (“hook”), Swedish nock (“ridge”), Faroese nokki (“crook”), Icelandic hnokki (“hook”), Dutch nok (“ridge”) or Dutch hoek (“corner”), Low German Nocke (“tip”), Old Norse hnúka (“to bend, crouch”), Old English ġehnycned (“drawn, pinched, wrinkled”). Also cognate with Scots neuk, nuk (“corner, angle of a square, angular object”).