nidify

Meanings

verbnidify (third-person singular simple present nidifies, present participle nidifying, simple past and past participle nidified)

present singular third person nidifies · participle present nidifying · participle past nidified · past nidified

biologyTo make a nest.
[…] it may originally have explained why dung beetles do not appear when eagles nidify; […]
1997, Gert-Jan van Dijk, Ainoi, Logoi, Mythoi: Fables in Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greek Culture, page 206
2 more examples
It is only within the last few years that naturalists have clearly determined that some species of fish make nests for the reception of their spawn […] Five or six kinds are now ascertained to nidify; and of these, two belong to the genus Gasterosteus […]
1854, Albany Hancock, “Observations on the Nidification of Gasterosteus aculeatus and Gasterosteus spinachia”, in The Zoologist, 12: 4409
Among the birds that nidify there and live throughout the year [...] the sultan bird detaches[.]
2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 123
Synonyms: nidificate, nidulate, nest

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make a nest.

Similar

nidificate nidulate nest

Also see

nidificate nidulate

Origin

Latinnīdificō“to build a nest”
Englishnidify

First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin nīdificō (“to build a nest”), from nīdus (“nest”) + -ficō (“to make, build”). Doublet of nidificate and cognate with French nidifier.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian гнездя

гнездя (gnezdja)to make a nest

Finnish pesiä, rakentaa pesä

pesiäto make a nest
rakentaa pesäto make a nest

French nidifier

nidifierto make a nest

Italian nidificare

nidificareto make a nest

Latin nīdificō

nīdificōto make a nest

Polish gniazdować, wić gniazdo

gniazdowaćto make a nest
wić gniazdoto make a nest

Portuguese nidificar

nidificarto make a nest

Romanian cuiba

cuibato make a nest

Russian вить гнездо́

вить гнездо́ (vitʹ)to make a nest

Spanish nidificar

nidificarto make a nest

Turkish yuvalamak, yuva yapmak

yuvalamakto make a nest
yuva yapmakto make a nest

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

indify

Cite this entry

APA

nidify. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nidify

MLA

“nidify.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nidify. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nidify,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nidify.

Source: nidify on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.