A den is the home of certain types of wild animals such as lions or foxes.
2. countable noun
Your den is a quiet room in your house where you can go to study, work, or carry on a hobby without being disturbed.
[US]
3. countable noun
A den is a secret place where people meet, usually for a dishonest purpose.
I could provide you with the addresses of at least three illegal drinking dens.
...a Victorian thieves' den.
4. countable noun
If you describe a place as a den of a particular type of bad or illegal behaviour, you mean that a lot of that type of behaviour goes on there.
...the one-bedroomed flat that was to become his den of savage debauchery. [+ of]
...a den of greed.
More Synonyms of den
den in British English
(dɛn)
noun
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. Scottish
a small wooded valley; dingle
6. Scottish and Northern England dialect
a place of sanctuary in certain catching games; home or base
verbWord forms: dens, denning or denned
7. (intransitive)
to live in or as if in a den
Word origin
Old English denn; related to Old High German tenni threshing floor, early Dutch denne low ground, den, cave
Den. in British English
abbreviation for
Denmark
Denmark in British English
(ˈdɛnmɑːk)
noun
a kingdom in N Europe, between the Baltic and the North Sea: consists of the mainland of Jutland and about 100 inhabited islands (chiefly Zealand, Lolland, Funen, Falster, Langeland, and Bornholm); extended its territory throughout the Middle Ages, ruling Sweden until 1523 and Norway until 1814, and incorporating Greenland as a province from 1953 to 1979; joined the Common Market (now the EU) in 1973; an important exporter of dairy produce. Language: Danish. Religion: Christian, Lutheran majority. Currency: krone. Capital: Copenhagen. Pop: 5 733 551 (2017 est). Area: 43 031 sq km (16 614 sq miles)
Danish name: Danmark ▶ Related adjective: Danish
Den in American English
Denmark
den in American English
(dɛn)
noun
1.
the cave or other lair of a wild animal
2.
a retreat or headquarters, as of thieves; haunt
3.
a small, squalid room
4.
a small, cozy room in a house, where a person can be alone to read, work, etc.
5.
a small, localized unit of Cub Scouts
verb intransitiveWord forms: denned or ˈdenning
6.
to live or hide in or as in a den
Word origin
ME < OE denn, lair, pasture, akin to MLowG, place where grass is trodden down, lair < IE base*dhen-, level place
More idioms containing
den
walk into the lion's den
Examples of 'den' in a sentence
den
He loved building dens and being in woodlands, so needed no convincing.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
All in the lion 's den.
The Sun (2017)
Parents called for the vice den to be shut.
The Sun (2006)
He would build me tree houses and dens in the garden and read me bedtime stories.
The Sun (2015)
Bars around the lions den were said to have been missing and a probe has begun.
The Sun (2010)
But then a squalid drinking den is no place to grow old.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They make a den in a hollow tree.
Burton, John A. Animals of the World (1993)
Enter the world of the secret drinking den.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Building a den was my favourite thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She would go out in the middle of the night to get him from crack dens.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Make a den with a blanket over the furniture.
The Sun (2010)
The front room could be a den, a study or a shop window.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But in many ways it is a miracle this 19th century drinking den is still standing.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They were expected to go into the lion 's den and have their heads snapped off.
The Sun (2013)
Or as well as a lamb thrown into the lion 's den could go.
The Sun (2006)
Some suites also have secret dens, accessed by an ingenious staircase.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The next room is a den in which the walls are also upholstered, but this time in shimmering silk.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
A den of vice and murder.
The Sun (2014)
They used to play on the swings, now it's a drinking den.
The Sun (2014)
In other languages
den
British English: den NOUN
A den is the home of certain types of wild animals such as lions or foxes.
American English: den
Brazilian Portuguese: covil
Chinese: 兽窝
European Spanish: guarida
French: repaire
German: Höhle
Italian: tana
Japanese: >住みか野生動物の
Korean: 굴
European Portuguese: covil
Latin American Spanish: guarida
All related terms of 'den'
gulden
→ guilder
Den Bosch
a city in the S Netherlands , capital of North Brabant province: birthplace of Hieronymus Bosch . Pop: 133 000 (2003 est)
Den Haag
→ a Dutch name for (The) Hague 1
opium den
a place where opium is sold and used
vice den
a place in which criminal activities, esp those connected with pornography , prostitution, or gambling , take place
Den Helder
a port in the W Netherlands , in North Holland province : fortified by Napoleon in 1811; naval station . Pop: 60 000 (2003 est)
Den Mother
a woman who supervises meetings of a den of Cub Scouts
gambling den
a building operating as a business where money can be staked on playing games of chance
Unter den Linden
the main street of Berlin , extending to the Brandenburg Gate
beard the lion in his den
to approach a feared or influential person, esp in order to ask a favour
beard the lion in its den
to confront or attack someone, esp. a powerful or feared person, in that person's own familiar surroundings
walk into the lion's den
to deliberately place yourself in a dangerous or difficult situation