nests

noun

plural of nest
1
as in centers
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 hideouts
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 nests Bald eagles are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, so killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs is strictly prohibited. — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026 The organization highlighted careful monitoring, carried out with the farmers whose land the birds nested on, which allowed the nests to be fenced off from ground predators like foxes. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 25 Aug. 2026 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 The right trees can accentuate the look of your home’s curb appeal or draw in birds and other wildlife with edible berries or safe shelter for nests. — Lauren Landers, The Spruce, 23 Aug. 2026 He's also said that the ballroom will house critical national security benefits, including bomb shelters, a hospital, sniper nests and a drone port. — Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 21 Aug. 2026 Savory pastries include bacon-egg croissants, spanakopita turnovers and vols-au-vent, which are like birds’ nests of puff pastry stuffed with hearty fillings. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026 The striking photo was taken along India's west coast where locals give sea turtle hatchlings (Lepidochelys olivacea) a fighting chance by escorting them from their nests to the water. — New Atlas, 20 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nests
  1. centers
  2. hideouts
  3. nurseries
  4. lairs
  5. hotbeds
  6. bases
  7. seminaries
  8. breeding grounds
Noun
  • Free and open to all ages, participants track their hikes using the Goosechase app or with a travel log available at the district’s nature centers, including Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook and Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville.
    — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The production centers on a voodoo queen and the mysterious happenings in a cemetery.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of centers
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 hideouts
Noun
  • 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
  • Dieter emphasizes that gardeners should save seeds from plants that thrive in their gardens but which are difficult to find in nurseries or in seed catalogs.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of nurseries
Noun
  • These involve raiding the lairs of hoodlum rivals, then singlehandedly dissuading them from competition.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Definition of lairs
Noun
  • That’s quite a claim from a man who oversees one of the world’s most prolific hotbeds of anti-vaccine conspiracism.
    — Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 12 Aug. 2026
  • However, Canada’s success at the World Cup could lead to even more interest in soccer in traditional hockey hotbeds.
    — Shelby Blackley, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of hotbeds
Noun
  • Athletics The Athletics are led by DH Brent Rooker, who hit 39 homers and stole 11 bases last year, and right fielder Lawrence Butler, an emerging star who added 22 homers and 18 steals.
    — Jim Bowden, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
  • Washington Nationals The Nationals should take the next step forward as their young nucleus, led by shortstop CJ Abrams, who hit 20 homers and stole 31 bases last year, continues to develop and improve.
    — Jim Bowden, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Definition of bases
Noun
  • He is also believed to have furthered his religious studies in seminaries around Quetta and Kuchlak in Balochistan.
    — Andrew Pereira, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of seminaries
Noun
  • These incidents have many travelers asking if cruises are breeding grounds for illnesses and germs?
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 11 May 2026
  • Apocalypse movies are breeding grounds for unlikely posses, and this Australian zom-com from writer-director Abe Forsythe is no exception.
    — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
Definition of breeding grounds

Browse Nearby Words

nestors
nests
net
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Cite this Entry

“Nests.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nests. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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