nest

1. 1.

   inhabit a nest, usually after building

   “birds are nesting outside my window every Spring”

   Broaderpopulate
2. 2.

   fit together or fit inside

   “nested bowls”

   Broaderimplant
3. 3.

   move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position

   “We cuddled against each other to keep warm”

   “The children snuggled into their sleeping bags”

   Synonymscuddlesnugglenestlenuzzledraw close

   Broadercling to
4. 4.

   gather nests

   Broadergather

Other forms of nest

plural

nests·

past tense

nested·

present participle

nesting·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about nest

What does nest mean?

nest means "a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young". That is the primary sense; the word has 9 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in nest?

nest has 1 syllable: nest. In IPA it is /ˈnɛst/.

What is another word for nest?

Close synonyms include cuddle, snuggle, nestle, nuzzle, draw close. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is nest a common word?

nest is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.