den

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈdɛn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/dɛn/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(den)

Inflections of 'den' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
dens
v 3rd person singular
denning
v pres p
denned
v past
denned
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
den /dɛn/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Biology, Zoologythe home or shelter of a wild animal:the lion's den.
  2. a room in a home providing an informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, etc.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
den  (den),USA pronunciation n., v., denned, den•ning. 
n. 
  1. Biology, Zoologythe lair or shelter of a wild animal, esp. a predatory mammal.
  2. a room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet, comfortable, and informal atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, etc.
  3. a cave used as a place of shelter or concealment.
  4. a squalid or vile abode or place:dens of misery.
  5. one of the units of a cub scout pack, analogous to a patrol in the Boy Scouts.

v.t. 
  1. to drive or pursue (an animal) into its den.
  2. to kill (an animal) inside its den.

v.i. 
  1. to live in or as if in a den.
  • bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English denn; compare early Dutch denne floor, cave, den, German Tenne floor

Den., 
  1. Denmark.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
den /dɛn/ n
  1. the habitat or retreat of a lion or similar wild animal; lair
  2. a small or secluded room in a home, often used for carrying on a hobby
  3. a squalid or wretched room or retreat
  4. a site or haunt: a den of vice
  5. Scot a small wooded valley; dingle
 vb (dens, denning, denned)
  1. (intransitive) to live in or as if in a den
Etymology: Old English denn; related to Old High German tenni threshing floor, early Dutch denne low ground, den, cave
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Den. abbreviation for
  1. Denmark
'den' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Bogarde - Daniel - Den. - Den Bosch - dene - Den Haag - guilder - gulden - Hague - lodge - menhaden - open sesame - 's Hertogenbosch - Unter den Linden - Vondel - agglutination - air-raid warden - alpine garden - American linden - animal warden - Anne of Denmark - anti-Sweden - barnwood - bear garden - beast of burden - beer garden - behead - botanical garden - burden of proof - collision density - cove - Covent Garden - critical density - current density - cutting garden - denary - Denbighshire - den chief - dendrochronology - dendrology - dendron - den father - dengue - denigrate - denizen - Denmark Strait - den mother - Denpasar - densify - densimeter
Collocations: lured his [victim, prey] into the den, threw him into the lion's den, fell into the [lion's, tiger's, animal's] den, more...

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