1. breeding places or colonies where large numbers of birds (especially rooks, penguins, or seals) gather to nest and raise their young
2. crowded, run-down tenement buildings or slum areas
Usage: historical; chiefly British

Examples

• The penguin rookeries in Antarctica can contain thousands of birds.
• Scientists study seal rookeries to monitor population changes.
• Large rookeries of seabirds cover the coastal cliffs during breeding season.
• The island’s rookeries attract wildlife photographers from around the world.
• Urban rookeries in 19th-century London housed the city’s poorest residents.
• The old rookeries were eventually demolished and replaced with better housing.