warren

noun

war·​ren ˈwȯr-ən 

ˈwär-

1

chiefly British

a

: a place legally authorized for keeping small game (such as hare or pheasant)

b

: the privilege of hunting game in such a warren

2

a(1)

: an area (as of uncultivated ground) where rabbits breed

(2)

: a structure where rabbits are kept or bred

b

: the rabbits of a warren

3

a

: a crowded tenement or district

b

: a maze of passageways or small rooms

Synonyms

• labyrinth
• maze
• rabbit warren

Examples of warren in a Sentence

a warren of narrow hallways

got lost in the warren of interconnected side streets

Recent Examples on the Web

The quake shook the old city of Marrakesh, an 11th-century warren of stone buildings packed with historical sites and tourists. —By joanna Sugden, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2023

Strange rockets had fallen in the neighborhood overnight, and an invisible poison was spreading through the warrens of apartment buildings east of the capital. —Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2023

Its steam room still worked, but management had illegally converted the building’s upper floors into a warren of 135 cubicles, each measuring 6.5 feet by 4 feet. —Robert Klara, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2023

In the Saket mall, called Select CityWalk, a bubble of air-conditioning and chromed shopfronts are across the road from a medieval warren; the Apple store is opposite a Krispy Kreme. —Suhasini Raj, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2023

The area is a warren of residential streets bounded by a busy four-lane road to the west and, to the north, not a pic-a-nic but a Market Basket. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. —Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2023

He was born and raised there, amid a warren of houses cobbled together from brick, concrete, and tin. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 17 July 2023

Its location—off of a twelve-lane freeway, past a line of strip malls, in a warren of office parks—had the benefit of being both hidden and easy to get to. —Bernice Yeung, The New Yorker, 26 July 2023

Others had heard that the United States is a warren of private lands, governed by threatening signs and stand-your-ground laws: The week of the swim trespass, the news back home was full of stories of people being shot after accidentally driving up the wrong driveway or knocking on the wrong door. —Brooke Jarvis, New York Times, 26 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English wareine, from Anglo-French warenne, garenne

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing warren

• rabbit warren

• rabbit warren

Kids Definition

warren

noun

war·​ren ˈwȯr-ən 

ˈwär-

: a place where rabbits breed

Geographical Definition

Warren

geographical name

War·​ren ˈwȯr-ən 

ˈwär-

1

city in southeastern Michigan north of Detroit population 134,056

2

city in northeastern Ohio northwest of Youngstown population 41,557

Biographical Definition

Warren 1 of 5

biographical name (1)

War·​ren ˈwȯr-ən 

ˈwär-

Earl 1891–1974 American jurist; chief justice U.S. Supreme Court (1953–69)

Warren

2 of 5

biographical name (2)

Gou*ver*neur ˌgə-vər-ˈnir 

ˌgə-və-

Kemble 1830–1882 American general

Warren

3 of 5

biographical name (3)

Joseph 1741–1775 American physician and general in Revolution

Warren

4 of 5

biographical name (4)

J. Robin 1937–     Australian pathologist

Warren

5 of 5

biographical name (5)

Robert Penn 1905–1989 American author and educator; poet laureate (1986–87)