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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

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

Some residents of middle housing in Kirkland are like empty nester Bruce Klouzal, who downsized into a cottage cluster in the Juanita neighborhood with his wife in 2017, after their kids grew up.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2023

“I know I have to be an empty nester again. I know he has to be on his own. But my heart hurts.”

From New York Times ● May 14, 2021

Farmhouse Fixer Jon and Kristina undertake a renovation of a charming 1910 home owned by a baker who is an empty nester.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2021

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

Going home, where he can visit his empty-nester parents, was a major plus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2021

And neither is her guest of honor that day, Michelle Obama, the nation’s most famous empty-nester, who told Winfrey she’s trying to figure out “how I want to spend the rest of my life.”

From Washington Post ● Feb. 12, 2020