niche
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
A position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nichIPA pronunciation (US)
nɪtʃ
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
“He found his niche in the academic world.”
by extension
Any position of opportunity for which one is well-suited, such as a particular market in business.
Any similar position, literal or figurative.
ecology
A function within an ecological system to which an organism is especially suited.
Specifically, a cremation niche; a columbarium.
adjective
Pertaining to or intended for a market niche; having specific appeal; obscure.
verb
transitive
To place in a niche.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
Used this way, niche is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He found his niche in the academic world.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “niche in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: niche in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use niche
- “He found his niche in the academic world.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species).
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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.