Dictionary

empty nester en · NOUN

Etymology

From empty nest + -er.

Meanings

1. A person whose children have grown up and left home.
   • “When empty nesters talk about the teenagers,” the comedian Jim Gaffigan quipped, “they always sound like they’re describing a hurricane: ‘My wife and I thought we were prepared; we lost everything!’” 2025 August 10, Don Riddell, “Now that my kids are off to college, what’s this empty nester dad to do?”, in CNN:
   • In recent years, however, the “syndrome” aspect of becoming an empty nester has receded to the background as Ageless Explorers have begun to embrace the years when they are free to play and do as they want again. 2005, Ken Dychtwald, Daniel J. Kadlec, The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 31:
   • “People are afraid to home swap because they think people will wreck their houses, but I've had the opposite experience”, says Louisa Davis, a retired empty nester based in Denver, Colorado […]. 2026 June 13, Tara Loader Wilkinson, “Welcome to the $5mn-plus house swap”, in FT Weekend (House & Home section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:

Forms

Relateds

empty nest · empty nest syndrome · full nester

Translations (6)

es anidador vacío (person whose children have left home) · zh 空巢老人 (person whose children have left home) · es anidante vacío (person whose children have left home) · es nidificador vacío (person whose children have left home) · zh 空巢主 (person whose children have left home) · es nidificante vacío (person whose children have left home)