Table of Contents
Definition of Empty Nest
(noun) A home or a family in which only a parent or parents remain after the children grow up and leave.
Examples of Empty Nest
- A married couple after their children move away for university.
- A single mother after her children get married and start new homes (neolocal residence).
Empty Nest Pronunciation
Syllabification: emp·ty nest
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /EmptI nEst/
- British English – /EmptI nEst/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈɛmpti nɛst/
- British English – /ˈɛmpti nɛst/
Usage Notes
- Plural: empty nests
- Adult children that leave the home but return are called boomerang children or adultolescents.
- An (noun) empty nester experiences (noun) empty nest syndrome when children leave.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “empty” and “nest” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- domestic group
- domestic labor
- family
- head of household
- homework
- household
- marriage
- sandwich generation
- second shift
Works Consulted
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Empty Nest
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “empty nest.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/empty-nest/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
empty nest. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/empty-nest/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “empty nest.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/empty-nest/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“empty nest.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/empty-nest/>.