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 The upper level had three bedrooms and a children’s playroom (the couple’s two children have since left the nest). — Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 28 Sep. 2026 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities has been revealed as a nest of incompetence in its powerful central office. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026 The Colonial-style home in Greensboro, built in 2000, has wraparound verandas on the upper and lower floors, plus a third-floor observation space similar to the clubhouse’s crow’s nest. — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2026 Officials will monitor the nest throughout the incubation period, which typically lasts for 45-60 days. — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 22 Sep. 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
  • For years, hospitals have been buying and building outpatient centers, and then funneling more care to them.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • An institution built explicitly to neutralize biological catastrophes is now at the center of one.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of center
Noun
  • The strikes targeted militant hideouts at two locations, with initial reports indicating 22 militants had been killed, Pakistan's Ministry of Information said.
    — MUNIR AHMED, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Ben Jones as Cooter Davenport Ben Jones played Cooter Davenport, the lovable mechanic who was always ready to help the Duke boys out of a jam, with a garage that served as both a workplace and hideout when needed.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of hideout
Noun
  • Eco effort While over 80% of the reefs around the resort were bleached following the dramatic temperature rises of El Nino in 2016, the resort is throwing everything at its coral nursery and the green shoots are showing.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But this stellar nursery is also thought to be home to over 100 stars under a million years old, which is quite young and early in their lives.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of nursery
Noun
  • This transforms Huston into a colorful enchantress with her grim lair now becoming a lush Greek-like temple.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Some large bulls may retreat to lairs and hang out by themselves, remaining there as long as there is adequate food and water.
    — Jim Zumbo, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of lair
Noun
  • One of his favorite artifacts is a Humber bicycle from 1889 or 1890, used when a Baptist seminary was in the community, which was founded as a Baptist temperance area.
    — Melinda Moore, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The earnings test applies to thousands of programs at schools ranging from professional certificates to arts programs at elite universities and seminaries.
    — Ira Porter, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 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
  • Otthon Centrum analyst Gábor Soóki-Tóth said Tihany is one of the most expensive places in Hungary to buy a vacation property — with prices outstripping those in the nation's capital.
    — Lucy Handley, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is stationed at Futenma Air Station, on suspicion of strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in the island's capital city, Naha, early Saturday and stealing her wallet and backpack.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 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 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nest

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nest

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