nest egg

American  

noun

1. money saved and held in reserve for emergencies, retirement, etc.

2. a natural or artificial egg placed in a nest to induce a hen to continue laying eggs there.

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nest egg British  

noun

1. a fund of money kept in reserve; savings

2. a natural or artificial egg left in a nest to induce hens to lay their eggs in it

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Etymology

Origin of nest egg

First recorded in 1600–10

Example Sentences

Let’s say you went with the plan to start drawing down your nest egg now, and let’s round it up to $410,000, combining your own savings and the inherited IRA balance.

From MarketWatch

With the magic of compounding, if we live long enough, our nest egg could look like it was laid by an ostrich.

From MarketWatch

For her, to go back to Europe with a nest egg was maybe worth it.

From Barron's

It also costs to have an investment adviser — and with a nest egg of $100 million-plus, you definitely need such an adviser.

From MarketWatch

Remember that Social Security will be there for you as an income source when one spouse dies, but it’s always nice to have a larger nest egg to fall back on during a difficult time.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• cache
• reserve fund
• savings
• savings account
• stash
• stockpile