nest
nest — noun
1. a bowl-shaped home that birds weave from twigs, grass, or mud to lay their eggs
a bowl-shaped home that birds weave from twigs, grass, or mud to lay their eggs in and rear their young, or a similar shelter that insects and other tiny animals make for their babies
A sparrow built a nest in the old mailbox outside the Watanabes' house.
nest built in an unusual place
João spotted a robin's nest tucked inside the garden hedge with three blue eggs.
A wasp nest the size of a football hung from a branch in Kwame's backyard.
Early each spring, swallows return to the same nest under the bridge to raise their chicks.
文法句型
a nest (of/built by [animal])
nest + verb (hold/contain/protect)
用法筆記
For mammals, speakers usually choose a more specific word: 'den' for foxes and bears, 'burrow' for rabbits and badgers, 'lair' for lions and tigers.
常見錯誤
2. a place where someone lives that feels warm, safe, and comfortable — the kind of
a place where someone lives that feels warm, safe, and comfortable — the kind of home that gives you a sense of peace and belonging
After years of moving between rented rooms, the Chang family finally had a nest they could call their own.
Élise turned her attic studio into a cosy little nest with cushions, fairy lights, and warm blankets.
cosy little nest — common informal pattern
For Bilal, the cottage in the hills was the perfect nest after twenty years of city noise.
Yael decorated her new apartment with plants and soft rugs to make it feel like a real nest.
- cage
a place that feels restrictive rather than warm and comfortable
文法句型
a nest (for [someone])
a cosy/warm/little nest
用法筆記
Always used affectionately — calling a home a 'nest' suggests warmth, security, and comfort, never a negative judgment. A 'love nest' is a home shared by a romantic couple.
常見錯誤
❌ 'They bought a new house, but it doesn't feel like a nest yet.' — This is actually correct; it's fine as a metaphor. A more common error is using it in formal writing where 'home' would be better.
3. a place where harmful, secret, or illegal activities develop and grow — for exam
a place where harmful, secret, or illegal activities develop and grow — for example, a hideout used by criminals to plan robberies or a secret centre of political plotting
The police discovered a nest of counterfeiters operating in an abandoned warehouse.
nest of + criminals — common pattern
The small coastal town had become a nest of smugglers who moved goods by night.
Rohan warned that the online forum was a nest of scammers targeting elderly people.
Journalists uncovered a nest of corruption inside the government department.
文法句型
a nest of [bad people/activities]
用法筆記
Always followed by 'of' plus a noun describing the bad activity or people (nest of spies, nest of thieves, nest of intrigue). The word carries a strong negative judgment — it implies the problem is well-established and hard to eliminate.
常見錯誤
4. a group of matching household items, such as bowls, tables, or boxes, that are m
a group of matching household items, such as bowls, tables, or boxes, that are made in graduated sizes so each one fits neatly and compactly inside the next larger one
The wooden bowls were sold as a nest of three, each one fitting inside the next.
nest of + number — common pattern
Tyler bought a nest of tables for the living room because they save space when stacked.
A traditional Russian nest of dolls contains up to fifteen painted figures hidden one inside another.
The nesting bowls from the kitchen shop stack neatly and take up very little cupboard room.
文法句型
nest of [items]
nesting [item] — as compound noun
用法筆記
Often used as the first part of a compound noun: 'nesting tables', 'nesting bowls', 'nesting dolls'. The phrase 'a nest of tables' refers to the complete set, while 'nesting tables' describes the design feature.
常見錯誤
nest — verb
1. to create a nest using natural materials such as twigs, grass, or mud, then live
to create a nest using natural materials such as twigs, grass, or mud, then live in it to lay eggs and care for young — a behaviour typical of birds, insects, and some other animals
Turtles nest on the same sandy beach where they themselves were born decades earlier.
The swans have nested by the lake every spring for as long as anyone in the village can remember.
nest + by/at/in [location]
Those seagulls nested on the rooftop after the chimney was removed during renovation work.
Field biologists put up nest boxes to encourage bluebirds to nest in the restored grassland.
文法句型
[animal] nests (in/on/under [place])
nesting + noun (season/site/behaviour)
用法筆記
Intransitive only — you cannot 'nest something'. The noun 'nesting' is common as an adjective: 'nesting season', 'nesting material', 'nesting site'. Do not confuse with 'nestle' (to settle comfortably).
常見錯誤
2. to place one object partly or completely inside another of a similar shape so th
to place one object partly or completely inside another of a similar shape so that they fit together neatly and compactly, especially when the objects are designed in matching sizes for this purpose
The chef nested the smaller mixing bowls inside the largest one to save cupboard space.
nest [smaller object] inside [larger object] — transitive
These plastic storage crates are designed to nest inside each other when not in use.
nest inside each other — intransitive reciprocal
Wei nested the plastic food containers inside one another before putting them in the cupboard.
The measuring cups nest neatly, taking up barely any room in the kitchen drawer.
- scatter
to spread things out instead of fitting them together compactly
文法句型
nest [object] inside/within [another]
[items] nest (inside each other)
用法筆記
The transitive form ('nest the bowls inside each other') is more common in instructions and active descriptions. The intransitive form ('the bowls nest neatly') describes a design property. Often used in the passive: 'The chairs can be nested for storage.'
常見錯誤
3. to place a block of computer code, a piece of data, or a text element inside a l
to place a block of computer code, a piece of data, or a text element inside a larger unit of the same type, creating layers of structure within a hierarchical system
The programmer nested the conditional statement inside two loops to check every possible case.
nest [code element] inside [structure] — transitive
Our email system nests each reply beneath the original message so the whole conversation stays together.
A nested folder structure with too many levels can make it hard to find your documents quickly.
Jason created a stylesheet that nests each category inside a parent class for easier maintenance.
- flatten
to remove hierarchical structure and put everything at the same level
文法句型
nest [code/data] inside/within [structure]
nested + noun (loop/function/folder/query)
用法筆記
The past participle 'nested' is extremely common as an adjective: 'nested loops', 'nested functions', 'nested folders', 'nested quotes'. In everyday contexts, 'nested' describes any information structure where units contain smaller units of the same type.