Meaning & use
the empty nest
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
the situation of parents whose children have grown up and left home
Grammar: Used with the definite article 'the'. It refers to a stage or condition, not a physical place.
Patterns
- the empty nest
- empty nest syndrome
- empty nester
After their youngest daughter moved to college, they experienced the empty nest.
Many parents feel a sense of loss during the empty nest.
The empty nest can be a time for parents to rediscover their own interests.
Common combinations
- empty nest syndrome
- She felt depressed after her son left for university; it was a classic case of empty nest syndrome.
- empty nester
- Now that they are empty nesters, they travel whenever they can.
- suffer from the empty nest
- Some parents suffer from the empty nest more than others.
- adjust to the empty nest
- It took them a year to adjust to the empty nest.
Synonyms and how they differ
- post-parental stage
- A more formal term used in psychology; it focuses on the life stage rather than the feeling of loss.
Word family
- empty nester noun
- A parent whose children have left home.
Practice
After their children left home, the couple found themselves in ______.
Choose one answer.
'The empty nest' is a fixed phrase with the definite article; 'an empty nest' would suggest a literal nest, and 'empty nest' without an article is not standard in this figurative sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the empty nest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.