nest egg
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nest egg
n.
1. An artificial or natural egg placed in a nest to induce a bird to continue to lay eggs in that place.
2. A sum of money put by as a reserve.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
nest egg
n
1. a fund of money kept in reserve; savings
2. (Agriculture) a natural or artificial egg left in a nest to induce hens to lay their eggs in it
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
nest′ egg`
n.
1. money saved and held as a reserve for emergencies, retirement, etc.
2. a natural or artificial egg placed in a nest to induce a hen to continue laying eggs there.
[1600–10]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
nest egg
- Poultry farmers formerly placed a porcelain or other fake egg in a hen's nest to encourage it to lay more eggs—from this came nest egg, money saved to encourage the making of more.See also related terms for lay.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nest egg
Nest eggs, usually made of wood, porcelain, or celluloid, were put in hens’ nests to promote egg laying— the idea being that if a hen saw an egg (real or artificial) already in a nest she would be more likely to lay one herself.
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  nest egg - a fund of money put by as a reservefund, monetary fund - a reserve of money set aside for some purpose |
| 2. | nest egg - device consisting of an artificial egg left in a nest to induce hens to lay their eggs in it device - an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
nest egg
noun savings, fund(s), store, reserve, deposit, fall-back, cache They have a little nest egg tucked away for a rainy day.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
nest egg
nounThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
munitusmunapesämuna
nest egg
n (lit) → Nestei nt; (fig) → Notgroschen m; to have a nice little nest egg (fig) → sich (dat) → einen Notgroschen zurückgelegt haben
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
nest egg
n (fig) → gruzzoloCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995