Definition of "den"

den¹

/dɛn/

noun
plural dens
1. A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.
2. A squalid or wretched place; a haunt.
3. A comfortable room not used for formal entertaining.
4. Synonym of fort (“structure improvised from furniture, etc. for playing games.”)
5. (UK, Scotland, obsolete) A narrow glen; a ravine; a dell.
  Quotations
  I have made several visits of late to the Den of Rubislaw
  1806, Sir William Forbes, An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D., including many of his Original Letters
6. A group of Cub Scouts of the same age who work on projects together.
verb
third-person singular simple present dens, present participle denning, simple past and past participle denned
1. (reflexive) To ensconce or hide oneself in (or as in) a den.
2. (intransitive, zoology) Of an animal, to use as a den; to take up residence in.
  Quotations
  Although present in virtually all habitats, it preferred to den in caves, so its distribution, especially in cold, northern areas, may have been limited to limestone and other rocky regions where caves form.
  2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 203
  “Denning” – behaviour around making dens – has changed and bears are swimming long distances, but, says Aars, there is still enough sea ice in the spring for the bears to hunt successfully.
  2023 August 30, Patrick Greenfield, “Why it may be time to stop using the polar bear as a symbol of the climate crisis”, in The Guardian‎

den²

noun
1. Abbreviation of denier (a unit of weight)

den³

noun
plural dens
1. (Northumbria, chiefly in place names) Alternative form of dene.

den⁴

adverb
not comparable
1. Pronunciation spelling of then, representing AAVE, Bermuda English.

Definition of "den"

den1

noun

Quotations

verb

Quotations

den2

noun

den3

noun

den4

adverb

den¹

den²

den³

den⁴