nursery

/ˈnɜːsəri/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnɜːrsəri/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnər-s(ə-)rē/ (ame, mw) · /ˈnɜː.sər.i/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnɝː.sɚ.i/ (ame, ipa)

nursery — noun

  • nurserysingular
  • nurseriesplural

1. a facility where babies and toddlers are looked after by trained staff during da

1.名詞B1
釋義

a facility where babies and toddlers are looked after by trained staff during daytime hours so that their mothers and fathers can go to their jobs.

例句

Zuri drops her two-year-old son at the nursery every morning before work.

drop [child] at nursery — common collocation

Liang picks up his daughter from the nursery every day after work.

pick [child] up from nursery — common collocation

同義詞
  • daycare

    general term covering both centre-based and home-based care; used more in American English

  • creche

    British term for workplace or temporary childcare; less common for permanent daily care

  • childcare centre

    formal term for a facility that provides care and supervision

  • playgroup

    part-time, often parent-led sessions for toddlers; less structured than a nursery

文法句型

nursery + verb (singular/plural)

at / in a nursery

用法筆記

In the UK, a nursery is also called a day nursery or creche. In American English, daycare centre or day care is more common for this sense.

常見錯誤

❌I left my baby at the kindergarten at 8 am.
✅I left my baby at the nursery at 8 am.
💡Kindergarten focuses on early education for ages 4-5, not daily childcare for babies and toddlers.
❌She works in a nursery growing roses.' (when meaning childcare)
✅She works in a nursery looking after children.
💡The plant-cultivation sense and the childcare sense are different; context makes the meaning clear.

2. a bedroom inside a house that has been furnished for a baby or toddler, with ite

2.名詞B1
釋義

a bedroom inside a house that has been furnished for a baby or toddler, with items for sleeping, changing nappies, and playing.

例句

The couple painted the nursery a soft shade of blue before the baby arrived.

Aarav's nursery had a small cot, a rocking chair, and shelves full of picture books.

cot, rocking chair, picture books — typical nursery furniture

同義詞

文法句型

the nursery

in the nursery

nursery + noun (nursery furniture)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (CHILDCARE FACILITY): sense 2 refers to a room inside a private home, not a commercial or institutional childcare centre. Often used in the context of preparing a home for a new baby.

常見錯誤

❌The baby sleeps in the nursery at the end of the street.
✅The baby sleeps in the nursery at home.
💡Use sense 1 (CHILDCARE FACILITY) for a place outside the home; use sense 2 (CHILDREN'S ROOM) for a room inside the house.

3. a commercial site where seedlings, shrubs, and saplings are cultivated to be sol

3.名詞B1
釋義

a commercial site where seedlings, shrubs, and saplings are cultivated to be sold or moved into gardens and parks.

例句

We bought several rose bushes at the plant nursery near the river.

The nursery sells fruit trees, flowering shrubs, and vegetable seedlings.

sells fruit trees, shrubs, seedlings — typical nursery stock

同義詞
  • plant nursery

    fuller form that avoids ambiguity with childcare nursery

  • garden centre

    retail outlet that sells plants and gardening supplies; often larger and more customer-facing

  • greenhouse

    a glass building where plants are grown; narrower in meaning than nursery

文法句型

at a nursery

nursery + noun (nursery owner)

常見錯誤

❌I bought tomato seedlings from the children's nursery.
✅I bought tomato seedlings from the plant nursery.
💡Use sense 3 (PLANT GROWING) when referring to plants; sense 1 (CHILDCARE FACILITY) is for children.

nursery — adjective