nest

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a set of similar objects of different sizes that fit inside one another.

n. a collection of objects of graduated size, each designed to be stored within the next larger one.

“She bought a nest of tables that saved a lot of space in the small living room.”

“The kitchen was equipped with a convenient nest of mixing bowls, ranging from a small prep dish to a large five-litre vessel.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Military Technical

n. a hidden or protected place for a weapon, like a machine gun.

n. a fortified or concealed position for a weapon or a small group of soldiers.

“The soldiers spotted a sniper's nest in the clock tower.”

“The infantry unit was tasked with neutralising a machine-gun nest that had pinned down the advancing platoon for several hours.”

B1 · Intermediate

v. to build or live in a nest.

v. to build or occupy a nest; by extension, to settle into a comfortable home environment.

“Many birds prefer to nest in the thick bushes near the river.”

“The rare species of sea turtle returns to this specific beach every year to nest in the soft sand above the high-tide mark.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Computing Technical

v. to place one thing inside another, or to fit together in a stack.

v. to fit an object or a piece of data inside another of the same type.

“You can nest these plastic boxes to save space in the cupboard.”

“The programmer had to nest several loops to process the multi-dimensional array efficiently, though it made the code harder to read.”