empty nester
4
6.6
- noun
- /ˈɛmpti ˈnɛstər/
:
nido vacío
- We are empty nesters and like to feed others who are down and out.
- retirees and empty nesters
- become empty nesters
- empty nesters downsizing
Examples
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Many empty nesters travel more often now that their children have moved out.
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As the years went by, our daughter went off to boarding school, and we became empty nesters earlier than most, so the dogs became our children.
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We are basically empty-nesters now.
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You have young professionals without kids, and empty-nesters whose kids are already through the school system.
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Can you tell I am really enjoying this whole empty nester thing?
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Portland is the best in the country for empty nesters, finance magazine says.
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We had gotten through all the financial struggles and were just new empty nesters.
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I will also be an empty nester this year, so I am ready to tackle those piles!
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Whether it's looking for a place to raise a family or a community that challenges and excites the empty nesters, it's tough to beat Portland.
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Neighborhoods in the District, Arlington, Alexandria, and Silver Spring are on the national forefront of the trend toward young people and empty-nesters choosing to live in urban communities.
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Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines literal parts 'empty' + 'nester' so a learner can infer 'someone whose nest (home) is empty' — i.e., a parent whose children have left — which follows a clear metaphorical composition. However, the sense depends on the cultural/metaphorical use of 'nest' for home and the derived noun 'nester', so the exact parental meaning is only partly predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun empty nester comes from the image of a bird's nest. When the baby birds grow up and fly away, the nest is empty, so parents whose 'children' have 'left home' are called empty nesters.