I. ˈden noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English denn; akin to Old English denu valley, Old High German tenni threshing floor, Greek thenar palm of the hand, Sanskrit dhanu sandy shore
1. : the lair of a wild animal, especially of a beast of prey
a fox den
2. : a cavern or hollow used especially as a place of concealment or refuge
a robber's den in the side of a mountain
3. dialect Britain : a narrow glen or ravine : dingle
4. : a comfortable usually secluded room provided in a dwelling for study, reading, or leisure
every home that could afford one had a den , with leather armchair, pennants on the wall — Time
5. : a place that is usually small and dimly lit and that serves as or resembles a hideout or a center of secret activity
the dens where the gangs lived — S.H.Adams
the amusement dens of New York and Hollywood — R.L.Taylor
gambling dens
a den of iniquity
an opium den
6. : the home, base, or goal in certain games
7. : a subdivision of a cub-scout pack of the Boy Scouts of America made up of two or more cub scouts and corresponding to a boy-scout patrol — see den mother
II. verb
( denned ; denned ; denning ; dens )
Etymology: Middle English dennen, from den lair
intransitive verb
1. : to live in or as if in a den
there were hill folk who denned in log cabins with dirt floors and no windows — Vance Randolph & G.P.Wilson
2. : to retire to a den (as for hibernating) — often used with up
the young bears den up together during the second winter — R.E.Trippensee
transitive verb
: to drive or pursue (an animal) into a den
cold weather had denned up the coons for good — Hugh Fosburgh
his dogs drove hard and long and never quit until the fox was killed or denned — Red Ranger
III. abbreviation
denotation; denotative