n. & v.
--n.
1. a structure or place where a bird lays eggs and shelters its young.
2 an animal's or insect's breeding-place or lair.
3 a snug or secluded retreat or shelter.
4 (often foll. by of) a place fostering something undesirable (a nest of vice).
5 a brood or swarm.
6 a group or set of similar objects, often of different sizes and fitting together for storage (a nest of tables).
--v.
1. intr. use or build a nest.
2 intr. take wild birds' nests or eggs.
3 intr. (of objects) fit together or one inside another.
4 tr. (usu. as nested adj.) establish in or as in a nest.
Phrases and idioms:
nest egg
1. a sum of money saved for the future.
2 a real or artificial egg left in a nest to induce hens to lay eggs there.
Derivatives:
nestful n. (pl. -fuls). nesting n. (in sense 2 of v.). nestlike adj.
Etymology: OE nest