Definition of empty nest
Empty nest Definition & Meaning
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noun
a household in which one or more parents live after the children have left home: Our only child just moved into her first apartment, so we have an empty nest.
a stage in a parent’s life after the children have left home.
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Origin of empty nest
First recorded in 1885–90
Words nearby empty nest
empty calories, empty cow, empty-handed, empty-headed, empty morph, empty nest, empty nester, empty-nest syndrome, Empty Quarter, empty set, empty suit
Dictionary. com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use empty nest in a sentence
They have passed through life’s major transitions—like having kids or an empty nest—that often change people.
Why Older Couples Don't Need Marriage to Have Great Relationships|Francine Russo|September 19, 2021|Time
My mother raised me and my brother and sister until we were mostly empty nest, and then she went back to school and got a degree in gerontology to study aging and the needs and wants of the elderly.
Into the Head of Neil deGrasse Tyson|Joshua Eferighe|April 13, 2021|Ozy
The National Stadium is described as suffering empty-nest syndrome because it lags so far behind any notion of sustainable use.
Architectural White Elephants: Beijing, London, and the Post-Olympics Curse|Melinda Liu|August 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I hope as they mayn't find an empty nest some fine morning, and all the birds away.
A Country Gentleman and his Family|Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
I even told her of the little empty nest from which the young birds had long since flown away.
In the Days of My Youth|Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards
In the tree branches that clattered outside, her eyes fell on an empty nest.
Jewel Weed|Alice Ames Winter
An empty nest, riddled by the wind, hung dishevelled from a twig.
'way Down In Lonesome Cove|Charles Egbert Craddock (AKA Mary Noailles Murfree)
Raising the now empty nest he threw it with all his might at Dominic, and both his fists after it.
First in the Field|George Manville Fenn
Cultural definitions for empty nest
empty nest
The stage in a family's cycle when the children have grown up and left home to begin their own adult lives.
notes for empty nest
For parents, the empty nest sometimes results in midlife anxiety.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with empty nest
empty nest
The home of parents whose children have grown up and moved out. For example, Now that they had an empty nest, Jim and Jane opened a bed-and-breakfast. This expression, alluding to a nest from which baby birds have flown, gave rise to such related ones as empty-nester, for a parent whose children had moved out, and empty-nest syndrome, for the state of mind of parents whose children had left. [c. 1970]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
EMPTY NESTER definition | Cambridge English Dictionary
Examples of empty nester
empty nester
Do those who marry out of college marry for the same reason as the emptynester divorcees do?
From Huffington Post
The discriminatory anti-marriage penalties are particularly severe on middle-class "emptynester" couples.
From Heritage.org
That group includes "emptynester" couples who move downtown after raising children, a demographic found in most revitalized downtowns.
From NOLA.com
You may switch careers, become single or an emptynester, or move.
From Huffington Post
The young want them for affordability, the empty nesters because they are tired of tending to large homes filled with rooms they never go in.
From USA TODAY
Now he was in the home of empty nesters who doted on him.
From Huffington Post
You have all these young people and empty nesters moving in.
From Philly.com
Some had been empty nesters less than two months, while others had been so for as many as five years.
From Slate Magazine
Now, as we move towards being empty nesters, a small place with access to transportation and services is a lot more attractive to us.
From TIME
They suggest demolishing the eastern end to make way for residential development, most likely townhouses and apartment-style buildings for empty nesters, seniors and young households.
From Chicago Daily Herald
No one told the empty nesters the boys had severe mental health issues and had bounced between foster homes.
From Huffington Post
The cost of housing in a neighborhood mattered almost twice as much to 18- to 24-year-olds as to empty nesters.
From Dallas Morning News
Most boomers live in the suburbs and are expected to remain in the homes where they raised their children even after they become empty nesters.
From CBS News
It's great for empty nesters!
From The Atlantic
Are they empty nesters' spare rooms?
From San Francisco Chronicle
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web.
Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Translations of empty nester
in Chinese (Traditional)
（子女長大離家的）空巢老人…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
（子女长大离家的）空巢老人…
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What is the pronunciation of empty nester?
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empty calories
empty graph BETA
empty into something
empty nest syndrome
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empty-handed
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What is the empty nest syndrome and how not to fall apart when there is no one else to take care of
September 19, 2021 Relationship
If the chicks have flown away, it does not mean that life is over.
You can listen to the article. If it's more convenient for you, turn on the podcast.
When children have grown up and left home to live independently, parents may experience difficult emotions. These experiences are called the empty nest syndrome. We understand what it is and whether it can be dealt with.
What is empty nest syndrome
It is important to clarify right away: this is not an official diagnosis. It is not in any medical directory, and the doctor cannot write anything like this in the card. But this capacious figurative expression well describes the state of parents when their adult children left to study, got married or simply rented a house on their own and the house - the "nest" - was empty.
The empty nest syndrome is a complex of emotions. It may include confusion, a sense of loss and emptiness, sadness, boredom, anxiety, feelings of loneliness, fear of the future, and the like.
Why does it occur?
This condition has at least three reasons.
Parents have no one else to take care of
Or rather, at first they think so. Raising a child and caring for him took a lot of time, and in someone's picture of the world, this could even be the main meaning of life.
But now the child is already an adult and provides for his own needs, and his parents have freed up a lot of time and mental strength. And they still don’t know where to put all this, so they feel restless and strange.
Parents are bored and worried
Their closest person now lives somewhere far away, it is not clear what he does and it is not clear with whom he communicates. Will something happen to him? Will he get into trouble?
In addition, he no longer eats at the same table with his parents, does not clean with them, does not watch TV, does not quarrel with them over household trifles. The people who raised him yearn and want to spend more time with the “chick that flew out of the nest”.
Parents have no life of their own
If they devoted absolutely all their time to work and children, did not acquire interesting hobbies, dreams and plans, a couple of friends with whom it is pleasant to spend leisure time, then after the child “fledges”, it can be very difficult for them.
Where this state can lead
Opinions differ greatly on this issue.
Some studies suggest that empty nest syndrome is strongly associated with depression, anxiety and other mental disorders.
Other, more recent data indicate, and it is logical, that an empty nest, on the contrary, can become a source of good changes. Parents have free time and a lot of energy, they begin to do what they have been putting off for a long time, return to old hobbies or find new ones, communicate more, relax and travel, try themselves in different areas, take relationships to a new level.
Perhaps the path that a parent will eventually take depends on how prepared he is for parting with his children and what goals he sets for himself.
How to cope with surging emotions
Doctors and psychologists give several recommendations.
Prepare in advance
If you are a passionate person with many interests and a large social circle, chances are that change does not scare you so much, at least you will have something to do.
But if in recent years you have invested all (th) of yourself in the family, it can be hard.
The good news is that children usually don't move out of the house all of a sudden. And you can think of a strategy: what will you do when time is free; with whom you will communicate; where will you go. If it seems that there is nothing to do, you can remember abandoned hobbies, look for interesting courses, plan a trip. If part of your thoughts is occupied by clay modeling, Korean language or programming, it will be easier to cope with the surging feeling of emptiness.
Try to let go of expectations
Trying to observe the lives of children, keep track of their schedules and calculate the amount of free time, hoping that they will spend it in their parents' house, is not very constructive. As in the case of any other expectations: that a person will call you five times a day, at the first call, go to help in the country, talk about everything that happens in his life, and in general live this life the way you planned for him .
No matter how hard it is, you have to admit that a grown child is a separate person who may not meet your expectations and live as she likes.
Stay in touch
If the children have left and you communicate less, this does not mean that you are now strangers or that you are no longer loved. You need to find ways to keep in touch in a format that is convenient for everyone, even at a distance. Create a family chat and chat during the day, share photos, news, interesting articles from the Internet. Agree that once every one or two weeks you will definitely gather with the whole family or at least call up via video link if the child lives far away.
Look for common interests and common ground. Suddenly, both you and the children love the theater. Or skis. Or Scandinavian thrillers. This is an occasion to buy tickets for a new production, spend a day off in the woods together, or discuss the latest books by Jo Nesbø.
Communicate more with your other half
Since you are now alone, it is logical to support each other, spend as much time together as possible and look for activities that can interest both of you.
This is a good chance to get a little closer, resolve old conflicts and refresh romantic relationships.
Read also 🧐
- 10 facts for parents that will help raise happy children
- Is it possible to be ready for the birth of a child and how to check it
- What to do for parents who want to raise an independent child
- 13 things I learned when I became a father
- How to take care of the health of elderly relatives
Empty nest syndrome: how to let children go to single parents
For parents
Responsible parents who are actively involved in the life of a child find it difficult to come to terms with the silence in an empty house. Single fathers and mothers have it even harder. However, the empty nest syndrome is not always a negative experience. Research confirms that after separation from children, parents often experience a spiritual uplift, a sense of novelty and unprecedented freedom.
What is the "empty nest syndrome"
With the birth of children, many people literally merge with the parental role and cease to separate it from their own "I".
For 18 years, and sometimes longer, they are absorbed in parental duties from morning to evening. It is not surprising that with the departure of children, they are overcome by a feeling of emptiness, loneliness and confusion.
The period is really difficult, and it is natural to miss children. But it also happens that this syndrome awakens feelings of guilt, own insignificance and abandonment, which can develop into depression. If there is no one to share feelings with, emotional stress becomes unbearable.
Classic empty nest syndrome is thought to affect unemployed parents, usually mothers. If you have to stay at home with a child, the circle of interests is greatly narrowed. But when the child ceases to need guardianship, personal freedom begins to weigh.
However, according to a study by psychologist Karen Fingerman, this phenomenon is gradually fading away. Many mothers work. Communication with children who study in another city becomes much easier and more accessible.
Accordingly, fewer parents, and in particular mothers, experience this syndrome. If a child grows up without a father, the mother is all the more eager to earn money.
In addition, single parents find other areas for self-realization, so the likelihood of empty nest syndrome is reduced. But be that as it may, if there is no loved one nearby, the silence in an empty house can seem unbearable.
Risk factors for single parents
To date, there is no evidence that "loners" suffer from this syndrome more often than married couples. Nevertheless, it is known that this is not a disease, but a certain set of characteristic symptoms. Psychologists have identified the main causes of this condition.
If spouses live together, one of them can afford to rest for a couple of hours or sleep longer while the other takes care of the child. Single parents rely only on themselves. This means less rest, less sleep, less time for other activities. Some of them give up careers, hobbies, romantic relationships and new acquaintances in order to pay more attention to children.
When children leave, single parents have more time. It would seem that finally you can do whatever you want, but there is neither the strength nor the desire. Many begin to regret the missed chances that they had to sacrifice for the sake of their children. For example, they grieve about a failed romance or lament that it is too late to change jobs or get involved in a new hobby.
Myths and reality
It is not true that growing up a child is always painful. After all, parenting is exhausting work that takes a lot of strength. Although single parents often experience empty nest syndrome when their children leave, there are many among them who find the meaning of life anew.
Having let the children go “free swimming”, they enjoy the opportunity to sleep off, relax, make new acquaintances, and, in fact, become themselves again. Many feel joy and pride from the fact that the child has become independent.
In addition, when children begin to live separately, relationships often improve and become truly friendly.
Many parents admit that after the child left, mutual affection became much more sincere.
Although it is believed that this syndrome develops mainly in mothers, this is not the case. In fact, studies show that this condition is more common in fathers.
Coping with Empty Nest Syndrome
Feelings about leaving children are neither right nor wrong. Many parents really throws it into joy, then into sadness. Instead of doubting your own adequacy, it is better to listen to emotions, because this is a natural transition to the next level of parenthood.
Things to help you adapt to change:
- Think about who you can talk to, or look for psychological support groups. Don't keep your emotions to yourself. Parents who find themselves in the same situation will understand your feelings and tell you how to deal with them.
- Do not pester your child with complaints and advice. So you risk spoiling the relationship, which will definitely increase the empty nest syndrome.
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