nest
nest Lexical Profile
nest Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A structure or place made or chosen by a bird, insect, or other animal for laying eggs and sheltering its young.
"The robin gathered twigs and dry grass to build a nest in the old oak tree."
A cozy, comfortable retreat, or a secluded place where someone lives or rests.
"She created a comfortable little nest in the corner of the library with pillows and blankets."
A set of similar objects of graduated sizes that are designed to fit inside each other.
"He bought a beautifully crafted nest of wooden mixing bowls for the kitchen."
• verb
To build or occupy a structure for the purpose of laying eggs and rearing young (especially of a bird or other animal).
"Sea turtles return to the exact same beach each year to nest."
To fit an object or a set of objects compactly inside a larger one of the same kind.
"The camping chairs nested perfectly into the trunk of the car."
To place a set of data, computer code, or information hierarchically within another broader set.
"The programmer decided to nest the conditional loop inside the primary function for better efficiency."
• Rhymes for nest
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'nest', derived from Proto-Germanic '*nistaz', and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root '*nisdos' (meaning 'a place to sit down', from '*ni-' meaning 'down' and '*sed-' meaning 'sit').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.