empty

[emp-tee] /ˈɛmp ti/
adjective, emptier, emptiest.
1.
containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents:
an empty bottle.
2.
vacant; unoccupied:
an empty house.
3.
without cargo or load:
an empty wagon.
4.
destitute of people or human activity:
We walked along the empty streets of the city at night.
5.
destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid (usually followed by of):
Theirs is a life now empty of happiness.
6.
without force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless:
empty compliments; empty pleasures.
7.
not employed in useful activity or work; idle:
empty summer days.
8.
Mathematics. (of a set) containing no elements; null; void.
9.
hungry:
I'm feeling rather empty—let's have lunch.
10.
without knowledge or sense; frivolous; foolish:
an empty head.
11.
completely spent of emotion:
The experience had left him with an empty heart.
verb (used with object), emptied, emptying.
12.
to make empty; deprive of contents; discharge the contents of:
to empty a bucket.
13.
to discharge (contents):
to empty the water out of a bucket.
verb (used without object), emptied, emptying.
14.
to become empty:
The room emptied rapidly after the lecture.
15.
to discharge contents, as a river:
The river empties into the sea.
noun, plural empties.
16.
Informal. something that is empty, as a box, bottle, or can:
Throw the empties into the waste bin.
Origin
before 900; Middle English (with intrusive -p-); Old English ǣmettig vacant (ǣmett(a) leisure (ǣ- a-3 + Germanic *mōtithō accommodation; cf. must1, meet1) + -ig -y1)
Related forms
emptiable, adjective
emptier, noun
emptily, adverb
emptiness, noun
overempty, adjective
quasi-empty, adjective
self-emptiness, noun
self-emptying, adjective
unemptied, adjective
unempty, adjective
Synonyms
1. vacuous. Empty, vacant, blank, void denote absence of content or contents. Empty means without appropriate or accustomed contents: an empty refrigerator. Vacant is usually applied to that which is temporarily unoccupied: a vacant chair; three vacant apartments. Blank applies to surfaces free from any marks or lacking appropriate markings, openings, etc.: blank paper; a blank wall. Void emphasizes completely unfilled space with vague, unspecified, or no boundaries: void and without form. 6. delusive, vain. 12. unload, unburden.
Antonyms
1. full.
Examples from the web for empty
  • The stomach was noted empty at the time of surgery and no gastric contents were seen in the abdomen.
  • Then he opened a lottery, sold a thousand tickets, and handed out the empty bottles as prizes.
  • If he fails to turn up, he risks being represented by an empty chair.
  • Some satiated caterpillars then attach the empty snail shells onto their speckled casings.
  • Some offerings contain inedible plant seeds or empty insect exoskeletons.
  • The children come running as soon as the boat pushes onto the riverbank, mooring next to empty handmade fish traps.
  • Put this in the empty section to catch the fat as it melts, preventing flare-ups.
  • At some point, the newly homeless millions may well look at newly foreclosed, empty houses and take what they need.
  • According to quantum mechanics, empty space is anything but empty.
  • Most city skies have become virtually empty of stars.
British Dictionary definitions for empty

empty

/ˈɛmptɪ/
adjective -tier, -tiest
1.
containing nothing
2.
without inhabitants; vacant or unoccupied
3.
carrying no load, passengers, etc
4.
without purpose, substance, or value: an empty life
5.
insincere or trivial: empty words
6.
not expressive or vital; vacant: she has an empty look
7.
(informal) hungry
8.
(postpositive) foll by of. devoid; destitute: a life empty of happiness
9.
(informal) drained of energy or emotion: after the violent argument he felt very empty
10.
(maths, logic) (of a set or class) containing no members
11.
(philosophy, logic) (of a name or description) having no reference
verb -ties, -tying, -tied
12.
to make or become empty
13.
when intr, foll by into. to discharge (contents)
14.
(transitive) often foll by of. to unburden or rid (oneself): to empty oneself of emotion
noun (pl) -ties
15.
an empty container, esp a bottle
Derived Forms
emptiable, adjective
emptier, noun
emptily, adverb
emptiness, noun
Word Origin
Old English ǣmtig, from æmetta free time, from æ- without + -metta, from mōtan to be obliged to; see must1
Word Origin and History for empty
adj.

c.1200, from Old English æmettig "at leisure, not occupied, unmarried," from æmetta "leisure," from æ "not" + -metta, from motan "to have" (see might (n.)). The -p- is a euphonic insertion.

Sense evolution from "at leisure" to "empty" is paralleled in several languages, e.g. Modern Greek adeios "empty," originally "freedom from fear," from deios "fear." "The adj. adeios must have been applied first to persons who enjoyed freedom from duties, leisure, and so were unoccupied, whence it was extended to objects that were unoccupied" [Buck].

The adjective also yielded a verb (1520s), replacing Middle English empten, from Old English geæmtigian. Related: Emptied; emptying. Figurative sense of empty-nester first attested 1987. Empty-handed attested from 1610s.

Idioms and Phrases with empty

empty

also see: