den
nounverbnounnounadverbcommon in dialogue
- Canada//ˈdɛn//
- //ˈdɪ̟n//
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.
noun
- 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.
a den of robbers
Daniel was put into the lions’ den.
- 2
A squalid or wretched place; a haunt.
a den of vice
an opium den; a gambling den
Lying in a den in Bombay With a slack jaw and not much to say
- 3
A comfortable room not used for formal entertaining.
Near-synonyms: family room, sunroom, Florida room, Arizona room, rec room, playroom
- 4
Synonym of fort (“structure improvised from furniture, etc. for playing games.”).
Our little girls love using bedsheets and other stuff around the house to make dens in the living room and pretending they're on adventures.
- 5
obsoleteA narrow glen; a ravine; a dell.
I have made several visits of late to the Den of Rubislaw
- 6
A group of Cub Scouts of the same age who work on projects together.
Etymology
From Middle English den, from Old English denn (“den, lair (of a beast), cave; a swine-pasture, a woodland pasture for swine”), from Proto-West Germanic *dani (“threshing-floor, barn-floor”). Cognate with Scots den (“den, lair”), Middle Dutch denne (“burrow, den, cave, attic”), Dutch den (“ship's deck, threshing-floor, mountain floor”), Middle Low German denne, danne (“threshing-floor, small dale”), German Tenne (“threshing-floor, barn for threshing”).
verb
- 1
To ensconce or hide oneself in (or as in) a den.
- 2
Of an animal, to use as a den; to take up residence in.
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.
“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.
noun
- 1
Variant of denierAbbreviation of denier (a unit of weight).
Etymology
From Old French denier, from Latin denarius.
noun
- 1
Variant of deneAlternative form of dene.
adverb
- 1
Variant of thenPronunciation spelling of then, representing AAVE, Bermuda English.
Forms
- plural
- dens
- past tense
- denned
- past participle
- denned
- present participle
- denning
- third person singular
- dens
den · 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.
Den · A diminutive of the male given name Dennis.denial · An assertion of untruth.Denis · A male given name from Ancient Greek, a mostly British and…