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empty Definition

empty (emp′tē)

adjective emptier -·tier, emptiest -·ti·est

  1. containing nothing; having nothing in it
  2. having no one in it; unoccupied; vacant an empty house
  3. carrying or bearing nothing; bare
  4. having no worth or purpose; useless or unsatisfying empty pleasure
  5. without meaning or force; insincere; vain empty promises
  6. Informal hungry

Etymology: ME emti & (with intrusive -p-) empti < OE æmettig, unoccupied, lit., at leisure < æmetta, leisure (< æ-, without + base of motan, to have to: see must) + -ig, -y

transitive verb emptied -·tied, emptying -·ty·ing

  1. to make empty
    1. to pour out or remove (the contents) of something
    2. to transfer (the contents) into, onto, or on something else
  3. to unburden or discharge (oneself or itself)

intransitive verb

  1. to become empty
  2. to pour out; discharge the river empties into the sea

noun pl. empties -·ties

an empty freight car, truck, bottle, etc.

Related Forms:

empty Idioms

empty of

lacking; without; devoid of

run on empty

to be at a level of energy, creativity, etc. that is inadequate to sustain worthwhile activity or achievement
empty Synonyms

empty

modif.

  1. Without content

    vacant, void, vacuous, hollow, bare, clear, blank, unfilled, unfurnished, unoccupied, uninhabited, unfrequented, vacated, void of, devoid, lacking, wanting, barren, emptied, abandoned, exhausted, depleted, deserted, desert, stark, deprived of, in vacuo (Latin), despoiled, desolate, dry, destitute, negative, deflated, eviscerated, evacuated, cleaned out.

    Antonyms full*, filled*, occupied. *

  2. Without meaning or force

    vain, hollow, insincere; see false 2, futile 1.

  3. Without sense

    barren, fruitless, meaningless; see blank 2.

empty means having nothing in it an empty box, street, stomach, etc.; vacant means lacking that which appropriately or customarily occupies or fills it a vacant apartment, position, etc.; voidspecifically stresses complete or vast emptiness void of judgment; vacuous, now rare in its physical sense, suggests the emptiness of a vacuum a vacuous expression on her face See also syn. study at vain.

empty Synonyms

empty

v.

  1. To become empty

    discharge, leave, pour out, flow out, ebb, run out, open into, converge, be discharged, void, purge, release, exhaust, vomit forth, leak, spill, drain off, rush out, escape.

    Antonyms flow in, enter*, absorb. *

  2. To cause to become empty

    remove, pour out, spill out, dump, dip, ladle, decant, tap, void, let out, deplete, exhaust, deflate, drain, shed, bail, bail out, clean out, clear out, unload, unpack, unburden, evacuate, eject, expel, vacate, draw off, draw out, disgorge, suck dry, clear, drink, consume, use up.

    Antonyms pack, fill*, stuff.

empty Usage Examples

Object

  • bin: Ancillary Services will empty the office bin on demand.
  • bladder: Some people may need to use a small disposable catheter once or twice a day to empty the neo bladder.
  • bucket: Weed the garden, mow the lawn, empty the kitchen bucket!

Modifies a noun

  • tomb: But it is amazing how similar the accounts of the empty tomb are in the four Gospels.
  • stomach: First thing in the morning, drink 500ml very cold water on an empty stomach.
  • string: The default value is the empty string, which means no extension will be appended to the filename in any case.
  • bottle: Tony had told us to bring empty bottles to get mineral water.
  • shell: Stir together and turn out onto the bird table when solid, or push into an empty coconut shell.
  • cartridge: Why not help the environment by recycling empty printer cartridges whilst saving money!

Used with adjective complement

  • lie: A slow start led to fears the area would fail to attract tenants, with most office space lying empty.
  • stand: Having then stood empty for a decade, Hastings Hall has now been beautifully restored.
  • remain: The position of TDO remained empty for the entire period under review.
  • leave: An unoccupied dwelling left empty by a person who has gone to prison.
  • sit: Unite have invested money, why should they let it sit empty for 3 months of a year?
  • seem: Large secure garden, free run of large big house which seems empty now she has gone.
empty Quotes

I have protracted my work till most of those whom I wished to please have sunk into the grave; and success 442 and miscarriage are empty sounds.

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson

L'art pour l'art est un vain mot. L'art pour le vrai, l'art pour le beau et le bon, voila'   la religion que je cherche. Art for art's sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of the true, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I search for.

—Samuelson, Sir Sydney

   I sent a carriage to bring you back But it went empty, and empty it returned.

—Child,Julia McWilliams

We'd both been to the countryand found it disappointingly empty.

—Barnes,Julian Patrick

Hidden in wonder and snow, or sudden with summer, This land stares at the sun in a huge silence Endlessly repeating something we cannot hear. Inarticulate, arctic, Not written on by history, emptyas paper, It leans away from the world with songs in its lakes Older than love, and lost in the miles. 722

—Scott, F(rancis) R(eginald)

Je suis triste pour ma ge¤  ne¤  ration qui est vide de toute substance humaine. I am sad for my generation which is empty of all human substance.

—Saint-Exupe¤  ry, Antoine de

What though his head be empty, provided his commonplace book be full.

—Swift,Jonathan

But ah! if empty dreams so please, Love give me more such nights as these.

—Herrick, Robert

But if science may be said to be blind without philosophy, it is true also that philosophy is virtually empty without science.

—Ayer, SirAlfred Jules

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent emptyaway.

—Bible (NewTestament)

Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. See Bible (NewTestament) 115:23.

—Bible (Vulgate)