den
noun · verb · adverb
Simple meaning
A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehnIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.
A room that is comfortable and secluded
A comfortable room not used for formal entertaining.
A hiding place; usually a remote place used by outlaws
A squalid or wretched place; a haunt.
A unit of 8 to 10 cub scouts
verb
reflexive
To ensconce or hide oneself in (or as in) a den.
adverb
Pronunciation spelling of then, representing AAVE, Bermuda English.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.
Used this way, den is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use den
- “We turned the spare room into a cozy den for reading and relaxing.”
Share your sentence
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “den” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.