Word.ws English Dictionary

nestled

nestled is the simple past and past participle of nestle.

Meaning of nestle

Verb

nestle (third-person singular simple present nestles, present participle nestling, simple past and past participle nestled)

  1. To settle oneself comfortably and snugly.
    • In the work that it [the Servants of India Society] will do in the future it will be the spirit of Mr. [Gopal Krishna] Gokhale that will inspire it. So I would remind you that while you raise a statue to his public honour, do not forget what matters more, the hope that ever nestled warmly in his...1915 April, Annie Besant, “The Servants of India Society”, in Speeches & Writings of Annie Besant, 3rd edition, Madras: G. A. Natesan & Co., published September 1921, →OCLC, page 281
    Synonyms:
    snudge
  2. To press oneself against another affectionately.
    Synonyms:
    cuddle, snuggle
  3. (intransitive) To lie half-hidden or in shelter.
    • The old shop nestled between the newer apartment buildings.
  4. (archaic, intransitive) To build or sit upon a nest.
    • The kingfisher […] nestles in hollow banks.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
  5. (archaic, transitive) Of a bird: to look after its young.
    • This assimilates them more nearly to the natural conditions when the hen nestles her chicks on the earth, whilst the warmth is given chiefly over their backs.1871, Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist, volume 31, page 123
  6. (transitive) To move or place into a comfortable position.
    • She made no answer, but her fingers nervously nestled the leaves of a book.1862, William S. Woodbridge, Captain Paul's Adventure

See all 7 meanings of nestle

Questions about nestled

What is nestled the simple past and past participle of?
Nestled is the simple past and past participle of nestle.

Words near nestled in the dictionary

  1. nestle-birds
  2. nestle-cock
  3. nestle-cocks
  4. nestlecock
  5. nestlecocks
  6. nestled
  7. nestler
  8. nestlers
  9. nestles
  10. nestless
  11. nestlessness

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: nestled (page history and authors); nestle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “nestled.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nestled. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.