empty nest
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A home or a family where the children have grown up and moved away.
noun
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see empty, nest.
Example Sentences
- "One woman with a full-on and demanding career e-mailed me to say ‘This empty nest thing is no joke. I didn't realise it would hit me so hard. It is day three of my daughter being gone and I have to resist the urge to weep every time I go past her room.’"
- "Yet an “empty nest” can cause confusing emotions for parents. While this juncture can bring on sadness and loneliness, it can also signal newfound freedom and fulfillment."
- "As Dodd wrote in ‘The Empty Nest,’ “To me, it was glaringly obvious that parting from a child who has been the centre of your life for twenty-odd years is a really big deal. Yet while new parents are bombarded with advice, empty nest parents are left to muddle through what is arguably the most challenging phase of parenting.”"