nest egg

noun

1

: a natural or artificial egg left in a nest especially to induce a hen to continue to lay there

2

: a fund of money accumulated as a reserve

Synonyms of nest egg

• deposit
• fund
• budget

Examples of nest egg in a Sentence

They built up a nest egg for their son's college education.

paid for the computer out of his nest egg

Recent Examples on the Web

Reasons for the higher losses for the elderly range from access to a nest egg and a lack of comfort with newer technology to loneliness and declining cognitive abilities. — Angela Ramos, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026

The national nest egg also bankrolled the military, as soldiers could be paid partly in property. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Financial advisors generally recommend shifting to a more conservative asset allocation leading up to and in retirement, to avoid subjecting one's whole nest egg to the volatility of the stock market. — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 21 Sep. 2026

Fidelity Investments has helpful benchmarks to assess retirement nest egg adequacy at various life stages. — ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nest egg

• blackleg
• bootleg
• foreleg
• mpeg
• nutmeg
• prepreg
• beg
• clegg
• keg
• leg
• legg
• meg

Kids Definition

nest egg

noun

: a fund of money set aside as a reserve