Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To build a nest.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To build a nest; nidificate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb zoology To make a nest.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin nīdificāre : nīdus, nest; see sed- in Indo-European roots + -ficāre, -fy.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin nīdificō ("build a nest"), from nīdus ("nest") + faciō ("make, do").

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Examples

  • True, it may be said that the second progeny is due to the mothers who knew the males in autumn and who would be able to nidify twice a year.

    Bramble-Bees and Others Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

  • We know that the Three-horned Osmia prefers to haunt the habitations of the Bees who nidify in populous colonies, such as the Mason-bee of the

    Bramble-Bees and Others Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

  • Osmiae return, through the always open windows, but they will always nidify on the natal spot if they find something like the necessary conditions.

    Bramble-Bees and Others Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

  • To persuade the Osmia to nidify in a single tube long enough to receive the whole of her laying and at the same time narrow enough to leave her only just the possibility of admittance appears to me

    Bramble-Bees and Others Jean-Henri Fabre 1869

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