nest

noun

ˈnest How to pronounce nest (audio)
Definition of nestnext
1
as in center
a place or environment that favors the development of something suspected that the elite private universities were a nest of antigovernment sentiments

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in hideout
a place where a person goes to hide or to avoid others headed back to her cozy nest in the mountains for a little rest and relaxation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nest Hunger forces penguin parents to travel farther afield for food and leave their nests behind. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 During the 2016-2017 nesting season, Jackie took over a nest where Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) had a camera stationed. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026 Feral pigeons are famously terrible nest builders and are drawn to buildings and roofs with features like solar panels, chimneys, eaves, and AC units to make their homes. — Molly Burford, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2026 Parenthood and Social Behavior Ravens and crows lay a similar number of eggs—usually four to six at once—and the young leave the nest at roughly the same age. — Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nest
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nest
  1. center
  2. hideout
  3. nursery
  4. lair
  5. seminary
  6. nidus
  7. capital
Noun
  • The latest forecast predicts the center will pass roughly 115 to 150 miles west of Kauai, close enough that any additional eastward shifts in the track could bring stronger winds and greater impacts, particularly to Kauai, the hurricane center said.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The center makes the protection calls, and often, zone runs cut vertically toward the center.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of center
Noun
  • Pakistani security forces killed 48 militants in a series of raids on hideouts in the country's restive southwest over the past 72 hours, the military said Friday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Pulling ourselves away from our luxury hideout took an effort, but hanging out at the Arna Ocean Lounge was worth it.
    — Norm Bour, Travel + Leisure, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of hideout
Noun
  • This year, funding was supposed to ramp up to $25 million a year to pay for boats, air tanks, and divers to get the corals out of the nurseries and onto the reef.
    — Nicolás Rivero, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In May, while attending the International Carnivorous Plant Symposium and Expo in Kernersville, a man with the nursery was trying to see if any other gardens might want Dolly.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of nursery
Noun
  • Inside, Project Bond would certainly make a fine lair for any Boon villain.
    — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Eriro Ehrwalder Alm, Austria Eriro is an outlier, a luxury lair that emphasizes privacy, quiet, and remoteness.
    — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of lair
Noun
  • Eventually, Lamb attended seminary and became a Catholic priest in 1966.
    — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The location pushed the seminary’s politics to the left, but poverty and activist flags are harder to find in Chelsea these days.
    — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of seminary
Noun
  • The indisputably desirable goal of supporting walking, biking and bus-riding around an Uptown nidus was severely wounded.
    — Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 30 Nov. 2020
  • To deliberately collapse and compress a lobe of lung, and with it, its nidus of festering infection.
    — Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 24 Mar. 2017
Definition of nidus
Noun
  • Consequently, the ramifications of Japan's policy changes are no longer confined to the yen and domestic markets, but are fast becoming a key variable influencing global interest rates and capital flows.
    — , CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
  • At the time, a conviction for a capital felony carried either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
    — Greg Smith, Hartford Courant, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of capital

Phrases Containing nest

Browse Nearby Words

nesses
nest
nest egg
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Cite this Entry

“Nest.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nest. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nest

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nest

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