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Glite Dictionary
mouse's nest

mouse's nest

5.6
A place a mouse makes to live and raise its babies
  • noun
translation icon : nido de ratón
  • Look! A mouse's nest!

Examples

  • A mouse's nest is often made of shredded paper, grass, and other soft materials.

  • We found a mouse's nest inside the old cardboard box in the attic.

  • The gardener disturbed a mouse's nest while turning over the compost heap.

  • The mouse's nest was hidden under the old shed.

  • The old tree had a cozy mouse's nest hidden among its branches.

  • She found a mouse's nest in the corner of the attic while cleaning.

  • In the garden, the children discovered a small mouse's nest under a pile of leaves.

Synonyms

mouse nest
vsmouse's nest
3.4

A small home mice build to keep and raise their babies

has identical meaning but uses a possessive singular form

Surface Forms

mouse's nest singular
mice's nests plural

Morphology

mouse's + nest

The meaning is a straightforward possessive composition: 'mouse's' indicates ownership/association and 'nest' is an animal shelter, so a B1 learner who knows 'mouse' and 'nest' can derive 'a nest belonging to a mouse'. This possessive + noun pattern is highly regular and cross-linguistically common, making the expression transparently interpretable from its parts.

Etymology

Mouse's nest comes from watching small mice gather soft things like paper, grass, and fabric to make a tiny, warm nest where they sleep and raise their babies. So it simply means 'a nest made by a mouse'.