Other forms: empty nesters
Empty nesters are parents whose kids have grown up and moved into their own homes. When you and your siblings start college or get jobs and apartments, your parents will be empty nesters.
Empty nesters find themselves in homes that may feel sadly deserted or pleasantly peaceful (or a bit of both). Someone with six children isn't an empty nester until the last child moves out; a couple with one son who goes to boarding school at 14 may feel stunned that they're suddenly empty nesters. There's a condition known as empty nest syndrome, which is sadness or grief at the departure of one's kids. The term empty nester is a metaphor comparing these parents to birds whose chicks have left the nest when they're old enough to fly.