Entry Word: niche

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a hollowed-out space in a wall <statues of various saints occupy the niches lining the abbey's many corridors>

Synonyms alcove, nook, recess

Related Words corner, cranny, cubbyhole; cubicle; dent, indentation

2 the place where a plant or animal is usually or naturally found <the platypus's niche is the waters of eastern Australia and Tasmania> — see home 2