birdnest

English

Noun

birdnest (plural birdnests)

1. Alternative form of bird's nest

Verb

birdnest (third-person singular simple present birdnests, present participle birdnesting, simple past and past participle birdnested)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To make or nestle in a bird's nest.
   • 1869, James Grant, The Girl He Married, volume 2, page 122:

     Lennard knew well every nook, crevice, and shelf of the quarry; on many a day in boyhood he had birdnested among the gorse that fringed its mouth, or fished for minnows and "pow-wowets" with a luggie and string in the slimy pool at the bottom; […]

2. (intransitive) To become entangled or dishevelled, like a bird's nest.
   • 1999, T.D. Burchell, Carbon Materials for Advanced Technologies, page 164:

     As currently produced, this type of fiber is entangled, or birdnested, and resembles cotton (except for the color).

3. (intransitive) To collect eggs from bird's nests.

Derived terms

• birdnesting

Anagrams

• brentids