niche

/nɪtʃ/

/niʃ/

Other forms: niches

A niche is a space that's all your own, from a literal corner or enclosure to some kind of professional specialty. Like finding a niche in the scented soaps market with peanut butter body wash and winning over a loyal, if not nutty, following.

In the 1600s, niche was first recorded as meaning a “shallow recess in a wall." The figurative sense of the word didn’t come about for another century. So today, you can use niche literally to refer to a cranny or crevice, or figuratively to talk about an activity or role in life that is particularly suited a person’s interests or talents. Synonyms range from alcove and compartment to nook and opening.

Definitions of niche

1. noun

   a small concavity
   synonyms: corner, recess, recession

   types:

   pharyngeal recess

   a small recess in the wall of the pharynx

   type of:

   concave shape, concavity, incurvation, incurvature

   a shape that curves or bends inward
2. noun

   an enclosure that is set back or indented
   synonyms: recess

   types:

   alcove, bay

   a small recess opening off a larger room

   apse, apsis

   a domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar

   cinerarium, columbarium

   a niche for a funeral urn containing the ashes of the cremated dead

   fireplace, hearth, open fireplace

   a built-in, open space in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

   mihrab

   (Islam) a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca

   carrel, carrell, cubicle, stall

   small individual study area in a library

   fire

   a fireplace in which a relatively small fire is burning

   tribune

   the apse of a Christian church that contains the bishop's throne

   type of:

   enclosure

   a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose
3. noun

   a position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it
   “he found his niche in the academic world”

   type of:

   place, station

   proper or designated social situation
4. noun

   (ecology) the status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species)
   synonyms: ecological niche

   type of:

   condition, status

   a state at a particular time