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 One of the two nests spotted this year was found inside a patch of barley left as a habitat by a farmer, with the other nest located less than a mile away, according to the charity. — Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026 Health inspector observed a German roach on the nest on the bottom shelf of the prep table behind the prep cooler inside the electrical outlets. — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026 The nest is attractively situated, as any raptor realtor would point out. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Kaydee and Shadow have been spending more time together, including visits to the former nest of Jackie and Shadow, the organization said. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 23 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
  • Drivers in the Iranian capital of Tehran are experiencing long lines at gas stations and temporary fuel shortages, according to Iranian news agencies, although authorities have insisted the overall fuel supply chain remains stable.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The precedent for what happens when that capital moves quickly is March 2020, when a rapid unwind of leveraged positions contributed to a breakdown of Treasury-market liquidity severe enough to require Federal Reserve intervention.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 Aug. 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nest

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nest

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