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• empty nester
  empty nester

  noun

  a parent whose children have reached adulthood and left home.
• empty-nester
  empty-nester

  noun

  a married person whose children have grown up and left home

empty nester

American  

Or empty-nester

noun

1. a parent whose children have reached adulthood and left home.

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empty-nester British  

noun

1. informal a married person whose children have grown up and left home

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Etymology

Origin of empty nester

First recorded in 1960–65; empty nest + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

empty nester empty-nester

Having a third child, which she still thinks about, would mean she wouldn’t be an empty nester until her mid-60s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

For Veronica P., an empty nester who moved to Olive Dell in March 2024, the ranch offered her acceptance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025

But then, as she approached becoming an empty nester, Dressback began having panic attacks around being gay, she said, feeling that “I’ve pushed this down for a really long time.”

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2024

After losing a loved one, going through a breakup or becoming an empty nester, our items can become laced with deep sentiment.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2023

Duplass’s Dobson, an acclaimed novelist, recent widower and now an empty nester, is struggling to hold himself together.

From New York Times ● May 13, 2022

Bryant is a recent empty-nester, so she’s looking for someone who’s experienced as much life as she has and knows how to have fun at the same time.

From Salon ● May 5, 2025

And, like that, I became an afternoon empty-nester.

From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2022

As the "Friends" alum prepares to be an empty-nester, she spoke to People magazine about motherhood and her relationship with Coco.

From Fox News ● Jan. 27, 2022

We had gone through dozens of hours of training, which we needed; unlike some of our empty-nester classmates, we have never been parents before.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 6, 2021

Call Your Mother Kyra Sedgwick stars in this new comedy as a bored and restless empty-nester who moves across the country to reinsert herself in the lives of her adult children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2021