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
  • Patterson, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has experience at guard and center, and the 49ers needed a backup at both spots considering Toth’s lingering concussion symptoms.
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • These counties have no hospitals or birth centers providing obstetric care, and no obstetric clinician.
    — Kayley Corley, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of center
Noun
  • Mod Periscope The perfect tool to peek out of secret hideouts—and infinitely customizable!
    — Jodi Levine, Parents, 21 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of hideout
Noun
  • The blaze appears to have been triggered by an air conditioning compressor explosion inside the nursery where the newborn babies were being cared for, rescue sources told CNN.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Between 1935 and 1942, federal nurseries distributed over 85 million kudzu seedlings to Southern landowners, and the government offered farmers up to $8 per acre to plant the vine on their land.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 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
  • The bank expects power networks to account for roughly one-third of group profits by 2029, up from 23% in 2025, which would help cut capital costs.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This influences how capital is allocated, which capabilities are funded, what risks are accepted, and whether growth translates into sustainable cash flow and returns.
    — Kumar Rupesh, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of capital

Phrases Containing nest

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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 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nest

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nest

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