NICHE Definition & Meaning

A niche is a place or position that’s particularly appropriate for someone or something, especially due to being very specific and different from others.

Niche often refers to a position or interest that allows someone or something to thrive in a particular environment. It’s especially used in the context of people’s careers to refer to the specific position, occupation, or business that will set them apart from others and allow them to be successful.

When someone tells you to “find your niche,” they mean you should find the very specific activity or position that sets you apart and in which you can find success or fulfillment.

Niche can also refer to a very specific part of the consumer market, as in My startup occupies a niche in the dry cleaning chemicals industry. 

In ecology, niche refers to the position or function that an organism occupies within its environment among other species of plants and animals.

The original, literal sense of niche refers to recess in a wall, especially one for the display of decorative objects, such as statues. Much less commonly, niche can be used as a verb meaning to place something in this kind of niche.

Niche is commonly used as an adjective to describe something that has very specific appeal, as inniche market or niche interests. 

The correct pronunciation of niche can be either nich or neesh.

Example: I started my bakery by selling all kinds of baked goods, but then I found my niche—making superhero-themed cupcakes.