Nesting Partner

A nesting partner is a partner you share a home with. The term is used mainly in polyamory and other forms of ethical non-monogamy to describe the person you "nest" with: someone you live alongside, often splitting rent or a mortgage, household chores, and sometimes parenting. It describes a living arrangement rather than a ranking of importance. That distinction matters to many polyamorous people, who prefer "nesting partner" over "primary partner" precisely because it does not imply that a live-in relationship outranks their other relationships. A person can have a nesting partner and other partners they do not live with, all held as equally significant.