noun
empty nest
Literal use for a nest with nothing in it. In modern everyday Japanese, 空き巣 more strongly suggests burglary unless the animal or nest context is explicit.
鳥のいない巣を、文字どおり空き巣と呼ぶことがある。
A nest with no birds in it may literally be called an empty nest.
ここでいう空き巣は、住人が留守の家のことだ。
Here, 空き巣 means a house whose residents are away.
noun
burglary of an empty home; burglar targeting empty homes; sneak thief
Common modern meaning. It can refer either to the act of breaking into a home while no one is there, or to the person who does it; it is an abbreviation related to 空き巣狙い.
See also: 空き巣狙い
旅行中に空き巣に入られた。
Our home was burgled while we were traveling.
警察は空き巣の男を逮捕した。
The police arrested the burglar who targeted empty homes.
Fuller expression for a burglar or burglary targeting a home while the occupants are out; 空き巣 is commonly used as a shorter form.
Means a vacant or unoccupied house, without the built-in criminal meaning that 空き巣 usually has in modern usage.
General word for a thief or burglar; 空き巣 is more specific to entering a home when nobody is there.
Means absence from home or nobody being at home; it describes the situation that an 空き巣 may exploit.
A transparent compound of 空き, meaning an empty or vacant state, and 巣, meaning nest. The burglary and burglar sense is understood as a shortening related to 空き巣狙い, literally someone who targets an empty home.