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Nest

11 dictionary results for: Nest

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

nest

[nest] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a pocketlike, usually more or less circular structure of twigs, grass, mud, etc., formed by a bird, often high in a tree, as a place in which to lay and incubate its eggs and rear its young; any protected place used by a bird for these purposes.

2.	a place used by insects, fishes, turtles, rabbits, etc., for depositing their eggs or young.

3.	a number of birds, insects, animals, etc., inhabiting one such place.

4.	a snug retreat or refuge; resting place; home.

5.	an assemblage of things lying or set close together, as a series of boxes or trays, that fit within each other: a nest of tables.

6.	a place where something bad is fostered or flourishes: a nest of vice; a robber's nest.

7.	the occupants or frequenters of such a place.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to settle or place (something) in or as if in a nest: to nest dishes in straw.

9.	to fit or place one within another: to nest boxes for more compact storage.

–verb (used without object)

10.	to build or have a nest: The swallows nested under the eaves.

11.	to settle in or as if in a nest.

12.	to fit together or within another or one another: bowls that nest easily for storage.

13.	to search for or collect nests: to go nesting.

14.	Computers. to place a routine inside another routine that is at a higher hierarchical level.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME, OE (c. D, G nest; akin to L nīdus nest, OIr net, Welsh nyth, Skt nīḍa lair) ≪ IE *nizdo- bird's nest, equiv. to *ni down (see nether) + *zd-, var. of *sd-, ablaut var. of *sed-, v. base meaning “sit” (see sit) + *-o- theme vowel

]

—Related forms

nest·a·ble, adjective

nester, noun

nestlike, adjective

nesty, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

nest (něst) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A container or shelter made by a bird out of twigs, grass, or other material to hold its eggs and young.
2. A similar structure in which fish, insects, or other animals deposit eggs or keep their young.
3. A place in which young are reared; a lair.
4. A number of insects, birds, or other animals occupying such a place: a nest of hornets.
5. A place or environment that fosters rapid growth or development, especially of something undesirable; a hotbed: a nest of criminal activity.
6. Those who occupy or frequent such a place or environment.
7. A set of objects of graduated size that can be stacked together, each fitting within the one immediately larger: a nest of tables.
8. A cluster of similar things.
A place affording snug refuge or lodging; a home.
1. A place or environment that fosters rapid growth or development, especially of something undesirable; a hotbed: a nest of criminal activity.
2. Those who occupy or frequent such a place or environment.
3. A set of objects of graduated size that can be stacked together, each fitting within the one immediately larger: a nest of tables.
4. A cluster of similar things.
1. A set of objects of graduated size that can be stacked together, each fitting within the one immediately larger: a nest of tables.
2. A cluster of similar things.
Computer Science A set of data contained sequentially within another.
A group of weapons in a prepared position: a machine-gun nest.

v. nest·ed, nest·ing, nests

v. intr.

To build or occupy a nest.
To create and settle into a warm and secure refuge.
To hunt for birds' nests, especially in order to collect the eggs.
To fit together in a stack.

v. tr.

To place in or as if in a nest.
To put snugly together or inside one another: to nest boxes.

[Middle English, from Old English; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Nest is an ancient word, *nizdos in Indo-European, composed of the prefix *ni- "down," plus a form of the verbal root *sed-, "to sit," followed by a suffix used to form nouns, *-os. Thus a *ni-zd-os literally means "(place where the bird) sits down." In Germanic, an old zd became st. Thus *nizdos became *nistaz, which further changed in Old English to nest. Latin also inherited the word *nizdos from Indo-European, where it eventually changed to nīdus. This word has been borrowed into English as a scientific term. The prefix *ni- survives elsewhere in English, too, in the words beneath and nether.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
nest (n.)

O.E. nest "bird's nest, snug retreat," from P.Gmc. *nistaz (cf. M.L.G., M.Du., Ger. nest), from PIE *nizdo- (cf. Skt. nidah "resting place, nest," L. nidus "nest," O.C.S. gnezdo, O.Ir. net, Welsh nyth, Bret. nez "nest"), probably from *ni "down" + *sed- "sit." Used since M.E. in ref. to various accumulations of things (e.g. a nest of drawers, early 18c.). The verb is O.E. nistan, from P.Gmc. *nistijanan. Nest egg "retirement savings" is from 1700, originally "a real or artificial egg left in a nest to induce the hen to go on laying there" (1606).

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

nest
noun
1.	a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
2.	a kind of gun emplacement; "a machine-gun nest"; "a nest of snipers"
3.	a cosy or secluded retreat
4.	a gang of people (criminals or spies or terrorists) assembled in one locality; "a nest of thieves"
5.	furniture pieces made to fit close together
verb
1.	inhabit a nest, usually after building; "birds are nesting outside my window every Spring"
2.	fit together or fit inside; "nested bowls"
3.	move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position; "We cuddled against each other to keep warm"; "The children snuggled into their sleeping bags" [syn: cuddle]
4.	gather nests

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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

nest

see empty nest; feather one's nest; foul one's nest; stir up a hornet's nest.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Eagle Nest, NM (village, FIPS 22020) Location: 36.55297 N, 105.26078 W
Population (1990): 189 (157 housing units)
Area: 1.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 87718

Crows Nest, IN (town, FIPS 16156) Location: 39.85217 N, 86.17282 W
Population (1990): 114 (43 housing units)
Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

North Crows Nest, IN (town, FIPS 54612) Location: 39.86510 N, 86.16204 W
Population (1990): 57 (18 housing units)
Area: 0.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Nest

Ey`as\, n. [F. niais fresh from the nest, a derivative fr. L. nidus nest. E. an eyas for a nias. See Nest, and cf. Nias, Jashawk.] (Zo["o]l.) A nesting or unfledged bird; in falconry, a young hawk from the nest, not able to prey for itself. --Shak J. H. Walsh

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Nest

Nest\, n. [AS. nest; akin to D. & G. nest, Sw. n["a]ste, L. nidus, for nisdus, Skr. n[=i]?a resting place, nest; cf. Lith. lizdas, Arm. neiz, Gael. & Ir. nead. Prob. from the particle ni down, Skr. ni + the root of E. sit, and thus orig., a place to sit down in. [root] 264. See Nether, and Sit, and cf. Eyas, Nidification, Nye.]

1. The bed or receptacle prepared by a fowl for holding her eggs and for hatching and rearing her young.

The birds of the air have nests. --Matt. viii. 20.

2. Hence: the place in which the eggs of other animals, as insects, turtles, etc., are laid and hatched; a snug place in which young animals are reared. --Bentley.

3. A snug, comfortable, or cozy residence or situation; a retreat, or place of habitual resort; hence, those who occupy a nest, frequent a haunt, or are associated in the same pursuit; as, a nest of traitors; a nest of bugs.

A little cottage, like some poor man's nest. --Spenser.

4. (Geol.) An aggregated mass of any ore or mineral, in an isolated state, within a rock.

5. A collection of boxes, cases, or the like, of graduated size, each put within the one next larger.

6. (Mech.) A compact group of pulleys, gears, springs, etc., working together or collectively.

Nest egg, an egg left in the nest to prevent the hen from forsaking it, and to induce her to lay more in the same place; hence, figuratively, something laid up as the beginning of a fund or collection. --Hudibras.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Nest

Nest\, v. i. To build and occupy a nest.

The king of birds nested within his leaves. --Howell.

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American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary 3rd Edition - Cite This Source - Share This

NEST
non-surgical embryonic selective thinning

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