niche

noun

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\ ˈnich

also ˈnēsh or ˈnish

Definition of niche

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a recess in a wall especially for a statue

b : something (such as a sheltered or private space) that resembles a recess in a wall

2a : a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted finally found her niche

b : a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species

c : the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption

d : a specialized market

niche

verb

\ ˈnich also ˈnēsh or ˈnish

niched; niching

Definition of niche (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to place in or as if in a niche (see niche entry 1)

Synonyms How do you pronounce niche? Is it \NEESH\ or \NICH\? More Example Sentences Phrases Containing niche Learn More About niche

How do you pronounce niche? Is it \NEESH\ or \NICH\?

Noun

There is a debate about how you are supposed to pronounce niche. There are two common pronunciation variants, both of which are currently considered correct: \NEESH\ (rhymes with sheesh) and \NICH\ (rhymes with pitch). \NICH\ is the more common one and the older of the two pronunciations. It is the only pronunciation given for the word in all English dictionaries until the 20th century, when \NEESH\ was first listed as a pronunciation variant in Daniel Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917). \NEESH\ wasn’t listed as a pronunciation in our dictionaries until our 1961 Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, and it wasn’t entered into our smaller Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary until 1993. Even then, it was marked in the Collegiate as a pronunciation that was in educated use but not considered acceptable until 2003.

All this is to say that the historical pronunciation has been \NICH\, and that \NEESH\ is a relative newcomer that came about likely under influence from French pronunciation conventions. At this point in time in the U.S., \NICH\ is still the more common pronunciation, but \NEESH\ is gaining ground. Our evidence suggests that in British English, \NEESH\ is now the more common pronunciation.

Examples of niche in a Sentence

Noun To succeed in this new world, you have to sell yourself. You go to a brand-name college, not to imbibe the wisdom of its professors, but to make impressions and connections. You pick a niche that can bring attention to yourself and then develop your personal public relations efforts to let the world know who you are. — Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review, 7 Jan. 2001 The ivory-billed woodpecker, wan ghost of southern woodlands, may actually be flying forth from its niche in extinction. — Frank Graham, Jr., Audubon, May/June 2000 Creatures in the genus Rickettsia occupy a niche between bacteria and viruses. They carry much of their own cellular equipment and are vulnerable to antibiotics, but like viruses they need to invade living cells in order to grow. — Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs, 1995 No, a safe and humble backbencher's niche in the Senate was the inheritance of a Julius these days. — Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, 1990 A dozen or so fey young monks in saffron robes and shaven heads wafted from quiet niche to niche begging alms and looking very flesh-bound to my jaded eyes. — Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987 I found a niche for myself after high school. She finally found her niche as a teacher. the species that fill an environmental niche Verb The most moving of all the museums in Russia, right now, is also the smallest and the most unlikely. Niched with no fuss whatever in what was a communal apartment high in the annex of the former Sheremetyev Palace in St. Petersburg, it is devoted to a great Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966). — John Russell, New York Times Book Review, 1 Jan. 1995 See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Barry was a Pavement record: cool, smart, a little niche. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 29 Apr. 2022 Bigger vehicles with longer trips will be hydrogen’s niche, says Free Reyes, executive vice president at Lancer Energy. — Tim Fitzpatrick, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Apr. 2022 At the moment, induction is niche, accounting for around 3 percent of ranges or cooktops that Americans use. — Ronda Kaysen, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2022 The big sled dog community is a niche one in Alaska, and fewer people are interested in larger dogs, Tomeo and Jonas said. — Emily Mesner, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Mar. 2022 As a genre, vaccine development memoirs are a bit niche. — Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2022 In the past, Operations was viewed as a niche (and potentially, boring) management discipline. — Natan Linder, Forbes, 27 Apr. 2022 Reid Carrico and others are trying to carve a niche as the Sam in three-linebacker packages. — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 15 Apr. 2022 The journey may start with a great idea, an identified unfulfilled niche, a concept or something similar. — Sheila Dedenbach, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'niche.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.