Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

nest

/nɛst/ noun

In Latin: nīdus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nest at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
Any of various similar structures or sites used by other animals: A structure built, or site modified, to incubate eggs, rear young, or shelter a colony.
mouse nests, wasp nests, skink nests
A structure built, or site modified, to incubate eggs, rear young, or shelter a colony.
mouse nests, wasp nests, skink nests

verb

To build or settle into a nest.
To settle into a home.
We loved the new house and were nesting there in two days!
To successively neatly fit inside another.
I bought a set of nesting mixing bowls for my mother.

Origin

From Middle English nest, nist, nyst, from Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą, from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”), literally "where [the bird] sits down", a compound of *ni (“down”) (whence also English nether) + the zero-grade of the root *sed- (“to sit”) (whence also English sit).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word