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 In the Chesapeake Bay, osprey chicks are dying in their nests at rates not seen since the DDT era. — Mark Robichaux, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026 After trying in-nest treatment, zoo staff removed Marlin to animal care facilities for twice-daily medication and nebulizer treatment with a misted antibiotic. — Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Their efforts to hatch and raise offspring at their nest in Big Bear Valley in Southern California became popular with millions of live cam viewers. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Shadow’s first visit to the nest since July 23 happened the day before, which was the first time the two eagles had been seen there together. — ABC News, 18 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
  • Balancing functionality with the brand’s house codes, the bag features two spacious compartments and a zippered one in the center.
    — Talia Abbas, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Sunday marked the grand opening of the center's Community Baby Closet, which offers resources such as diapers, wipes, newborn clothing, baby gear and postpartum supplies.
    — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of center
Noun
  • Others recounted people falling sick, being beaten by the rain, and told to hide whenever Nigerian military helicopters flew over the forest hideouts where the captors held them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Today the house at 176 Butch Cassidy Drive is named Robbers Roost, after the remote hideout in Utah used by Cassidy’s notorious Wild Bunch gang.
    — Catherine Dunwoody, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of hideout
Noun
  • Webb’s infrared vision is particularly useful here because infrared light can penetrate dust that blocks much of the visible light, giving astronomers a better look at the processes taking place inside stellar nurseries.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Consider soft pastels for nurseries, chic neutrals for minimalist spaces, or bold colors for playful café curtains.
    — Nina Derwin, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of nursery
Noun
  • Here, the club’s name is picked out in red, leaving no one in any doubt as to whose lair this is.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • And imagine the bear, cornered in an unfamiliar lair, seeing the light of the only exit blocked by this larger attacker that did not howl or bark, but crawled silently toward him through the addled dogs.
    — Paul Schullery, Outdoor Life, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of lair
Noun
  • This week brought me from Belgian Gothic seminaries to Victorian mansions, with a few aggressively average $4,700 apartments sprinkled among them to keep us grounded.
    — Nora DeLigter, Curbed, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Dorsainvil, who attended seminary in Jamaica, said immigrant advocates are also affected by the end of the TPS humanitarian program.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 July 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
  • Iran’s economy was in a poor state before the war too, with dire economic conditions a key driving factor behind the anti-regime demonstrations which kicked off in the Iranian capital Tehran in 2025.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • As the world has become less secure, Lagarde said on Wednesday, capital flows into Europe have been put at risk.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 19 Aug. 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 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nest

Nglish: Translation of nest for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nest

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