empty nest
Children have left
An empty nest is a household where children have grown up and moved out, leaving their parents living alone.
The term captures both the physical absence and the emotional adjustment parents face when their role as daily caregivers ends.
With both kids away at college, we're dealing with an empty nest for the first time.
Parents experiencing this transition are often called empty nesters.
State of lacking companions
- solitudeState of being alone
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
wistful · bittersweet · heartache · grief · loss · pining · reminiscence · silence
Freedom from external control
- travelMovement between locations
- adventureRisky exciting undertaking
- spontaneityActing without forethought
- leisureFree time for relaxation
flexibility · hobbies · self-discovery · reinvention · liberation · autonomy · opportunity · second honeymoon
Extra bedroom for visitors
- guest roomSleeping space for visitors
- home officeResidential work area
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- tidinessState of being neat
downsizing · reorganizing · decluttering · repurposing · silence · peace
Period of development
- adjustmentAlteration to improve fit
- midlifeHalfway through adulthood
- family dynamicsInterplay among household members
- developmental stagePeriod of maturation
counseling · support groups · self-reflection · generational shift
loneliness
State of lacking companions
- solitudeState of being alone
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
yearning · wistful · bittersweet · heartache · grief · loss · pining · reminiscence · silence · quietude
independence
Freedom from external control
- travelMovement between locations
- adventureRisky exciting undertaking
- spontaneityActing without forethought
leisure · flexibility · hobbies · self-discovery · reinvention · liberation · autonomy · opportunity · second honeymoon · date nights
spare room
Extra bedroom for visitors
- guest roomSleeping space for visitors
- home officeResidential work area
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
tidiness · downsizing · reorganizing · decluttering · repurposing · silence · peace
life stage
Period of development
- adjustmentAlteration to improve fit
- midlifeHalfway through adulthood
- family dynamicsInterplay among household members
developmental stage · counseling · support groups · self-reflection · generational shift
- family humorfamily jokes, dad jokes, marriage jokes, husband jokes, wife jokes
- nestswoven, birdhouse, eyrie, bee hive, termite mound
- sayings about motherhoodmama bear, mom guilt, mother hen, motherly love, mother's milk
- SyndromesDown syndrome, Stockholm syndrome, metabolic syndrome, Tourette syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome
- family dynamicsfamily dynamics, family roles, family therapy, sibling rivalry, parenting
- aging humorretirement jokes, senior moments, senior moment, over the hill, old timer
empty nestfull house
Triplet and pair combined
packed house · multigenerational home · boomerang kids · houseful
empty, nest, emptiness, emptied, nests, nesting, empties, nested, emptier