niche
1niche
noun \ˈnich also ˈnēsh or ˈnish\Definition of NICHE
1
a : a recess in a wall especially for a statue b : something (as a sheltered or private space) that resembles a recess in a wall
2
a : a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted <finally found her niche> b : a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species c : the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption d : a specialized market
See Examples of NICHE
- I found a niche for myself after high school.
- She finally found her niche as a teacher.
- the species that fill an environmental niche
- To succeed in this new world, you have to sell yourself. You go to a brand-name college, not to imbibe the wisdom of its professors, but to make impressions and connections. You pick a niche that can bring attention to yourself and then develop your personal public relations efforts to let the world know who you are. —Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review, 7 Jan. 2001
- The ivory-billed woodpecker, wan ghost of southern woodlands, may actually be flying forth from its niche in extinction. —Frank Graham, Jr., Audubon, May/June 2000
- Creatures in the genus Rickettsia occupy a niche between bacteria and viruses. They carry much of their own cellular equipment and are vulnerable to antibiotics, but like viruses they need to invade living cells in order to grow. —Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs, 1995
- No, a safe and humble backbencher's niche in the Senate was the inheritance of a Julius these days. —Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, 1990
- A dozen or so fey young monks in saffron robes and shaven heads wafted from quiet niche to niche begging alms and looking very flesh-bound to my jaded eyes. —Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987
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Illustration of NICHE
Origin of NICHE
French, from Middle French, from nicher to nest, from Vulgar Latin *nidicare, from Latin nidus nest — more at nest
First Known Use: 1611
Related to NICHE
Other Ecology Terms
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