nest

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Birds, Insects, Animals

nest1 /nest/ ●●○ noun [countable]  1  HBBbirds 鸟 a place made or chosen by a bird to lay its eggs in and to live in 鸟巢，鸟窝 a bird’s nest 鸟窝 In May the females build a nest and lay their eggs. 雌鸟在5月份筑巢产蛋。 Young eagles leave the nest after only two months. 雏鹰仅仅两个月以后就会飞离鸟巢。 →5  See picture of NEST 鸟巢 →4  See picture of 见图 nest2  HBIHBAinsects/animals 昆虫/动物 a place where insects or small animals live 窝，穴 a field mouse’s nest 田鼠穴3  leave/fly the nest to leave your parents’ home and start living somewhere else when you are an adult 搬出父母家，离家独立 Both daughters were ready to fly the nest. 两个女儿都准备好离家独立生活。4. nest of spies/thieves/intrigue etc HIDE/MAKE IT HARD TO FIND OR SEEa place where people are secretly doing a lot of illegal or dishonest things 间谍/窃贼的巢穴/阴谋诡计的策源地等5. nest of tables/boxes etc a set of tables etc that fit inside each other 〔可依大小套放的〕一套桌子/盒子等 → feather your nest at feather2(1), → mare’s nest at mare(2), → love nestn COLLOCATIONSverbsbuild/make a nestSwallows build their nests out of mud.leave the nestBarn owls leave the nest at two to three months.types of nesta bird's/eagle's/crow's etc nestan abandoned bird's nesta wasps'/hornets' nesta wasps' nest in the attican ants' nesta red ants' nest

Examples from the Corpus

nest• About as pleasant to come across as a nest of vipers.• I checked the old abandoned nest.• Several butterfly species live out their caterpillar stage inside an ants' nest.• Then ants would crawl through the cracks in the floor and build a big nest in the middle of the bedroom.• Individuals could invest in stocks and bonds themselves, creating their own retirement nest eggs.• Villages are unspoilt, usually built around a medieval church with a stork's nest on top.• The female sits inside the nest while the male goes off collecting nest material.• For as long as they had known each other it had been their nest, their retreat, their beautiful private world.bird’s nest• My hair comes out like a bird's nest and my eyes look slitty.• We are in the kitchen, sitting by a fire made from damp driftwood and bits of abandoned bird's nest.

Related topics: Birds, Computers

nest2 verb  1  HBB[intransitive] to build or use a nest 筑巢；巢居 They say eagles used to nest in those rocks. 他们说以前常有老鹰在那些岩石中筑巢。2  [transitive] to organize information, especially in a computer program, so that some of the information is recognized as separate but is included or contained in a larger part of the information 〔尤在计算机程序中〕嵌入〔信息〕 Phrases are nested in the dictionary entry for the first major word. 短语按第一主词排入词典词条中。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

nest• Such strong-winged birds as pigeons and hawks stray north in considerable variety, and some of these remain to nest.• The rectory was a dour red brick house with ivy-clad walls where birds would soon be nesting.• The birds stop briefly to nest and feed.• In summer petrels nest in crevices in the rocks, and colonies of penguins breed on nearby islands.• There is no evidence that this species has ever nested in Sussex.• The starlings have gone to nest in the hot-air ducts of a concrete and glass mountain in the city centre.• I wondered if the kingfisher still nested in the sandy banks there.• Cactus wrens and Inca doves nest in thick tangles of mesquite.Origin nest1 Old English

nest1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1nest2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese  

bird a Corpus a by chosen made or place

nest

I

nest¹ /nest/ noun [countable]
1.  BIRDS a place made or chosen by a bird to lay its eggs in and to live in:
    a bird’s nest
    In May the females build a nest and lay their eggs.
    Young eagles leave the nest after only two months.
2.  INSECTS/ANIMALS a place where insects or small animals live:
    a field mouse’s nest
3. leave/fly the nest to leave your parents’ home and start living somewhere else when you are an adult:
    Both daughters were ready to fly the nest.
4. nest of spies/thieves/intrigue etc a place where people are secretly doing a lot of illegal or dishonest things
5. nest of tables/boxes etc a set of tables etc that fit inside each other
⇨ feather your nest at feather²(1), ⇨ mare’s nest at mare(2), ⇨ love nest
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ build/make a nest Swallows build their nests out of mud.
   ▪ leave the nest Barn owls leave the nest at two to three months.
■ types of nest
   ▪ a bird's/eagle's/crow's etc nest an abandoned bird's nest
   ▪ a wasps'/hornets' nest a wasps' nest in the attic
   ▪ an ants' nest a red ants' nest

II

nest² verb
1. [intransitive] to build or use a nest:
    They say eagles used to nest in those rocks.
2. [transitive] to organize information, especially in a computer program, so that some of the information is recognized as separate but is included or contained in a larger part of the information:
    Phrases are nested in the dictionary entry for the first major word.