empty nestn.adj.
/ˌɛm(p)tɪ ˈnɛst/, U.S. /ˌɛm(p)ti ˈnɛst/ A. n.
A household consisting only of the parents (or a parent) of grown-up children who have left home.In early use as part of an extended metaphor.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant by type of accommodation > [noun] > inhabitant of house > household > in which only parents remain
empty nest1886
1886 D. M. Mulock King Arthur viii. 218 When the young birds are flown we must snuggle down in the empty nest. I dare say we shall bear it.
1920 A. Le Braz in A. M. Mosher Spell of Brittany p. ix As children become older, their wings begin to grow; the time arrives when they aspire to fly; so, one sad day, Mrs. Mosher found herself upon the edge of an empty nest.
1938 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 3 923 In organizing the material around the chronological family experience from life in the parental family through courtship, the first year of marriage, parenthood, to the ‘stage of the empty nest’ the author has further departed from the academic rut.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 27 Aug. 12/4 Therapists..have come to view the trivial-sounding ‘empty nest’ as a family crisis potentially as profound as divorce.
2008 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 May d1/1 In a new twist in U.S. family life, the open nest is replacing the empty nest. More young adults are returning home to live with their parents in their 20s, and a surprising number of parents are content about it.
B. adj.
Designating a parent whose children have left home. Frequently hyphenated.
ΚΠ
1970 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gaz. 2 Mar. 8/2 (heading) ‘Empty nest’ mothers.
1973 N.Y. Times 21 Jan. x. 24/5 Not all empty-nest women have high-salaried husbands, but all feel less ‘squoze’ once their sons and daughters have addresses of their own.
1998 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 13 Aug. 8 Her staff..are often drawn from the most practical pool of home organisers—empty-nest mothers.
2001 Sight & Sound Sept. 17/3 A.I...cannily harpoons the hearts of empty-nest boomer moms and pushes psychological buttons in kids (of all ages) longing for a return to the mother ship.
Compounds
empty nest syndrome n. depression affecting parents whose children have left home.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [noun] > caused by children leaving home
empty nest syndrome1965
1965 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 18 Sept. 1/3 Mrs. Leroy Jones cautioned the other adult panelists about a significant problem of parents—‘the empty-nest syndrome’.
1972 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Feb. 124/4 Even the ‘empty nest’ syndrome hasn't seemed to hit her. She seems genuinely delighted by both of her daughters' marriages.
2006 Yours 16 Sept. 39/3 We have our own lives, which has probably kept empty nest syndrome at bay—but we love being together too.
Derivatives
ˌempty ˈnester n. a parent whose children have left home.
ΚΠ
1958 Los Angeles Times 13 Apr. iv. 7/4 [The book] is aimed at the 60-and-up age group, but all empty nesters could profit by its points.
1980 Sunday Times 30 Mar. 50 The busy, well-off executive couple who either have no children or whose children have grown up and left. Americans call them ‘empty nesters’.
1992 Canad. Gardening June 11/3 The O'Donovans, self-described empty-nesters, were harvesting much more produce than they could use.
2011 Independent 2 Aug. (Viewspaper section) 19/2 And like many empty nesters, now that the dust has settled, I've got more energy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.adj.1886