I. emp ‧ ty 1 S2 W2 /ˈempti/ BrE AmE adjective ( comparative emptier , superlative emptiest )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: æmettig ]
1 . CONTAINER having nothing inside:
an empty box
an empty bottle
an empty space behind the desk
The fuel tank’s almost empty.
2 . PLACE an empty place does not have any people in it:
I hate coming home to an empty house.
The hall was half-empty.
The streets were empty.
The building stood empty for several years.
3 . NOT USED not being used by anyone:
I spotted an empty table in the corner.
He put his feet on an empty chair.
4 . PERSON/LIFE unhappy because nothing in your life seems interesting or important:
The divorce left him feeling empty and bitter.
Her life felt empty and meaningless.
5 . empty of something not containing a particular type of thing, or not having a particular quality:
The beach was almost empty of people.
6 . empty words/gestures/promises etc words etc that are not sincere, or have no effect:
His repeated promises to pay them back were just empty words.
7 . do something on an empty stomach to do something without having eaten any food first:
I can’t work properly on an empty stomach.
8 . empty nest ( also empty nest syndrome ) a situation in which parents become sad because their children have grown up and moved out of their house
9 . empty suit especially American English a politician or manager who does not achieve much or does not have much ability
10 . be running on empty to continue doing something even though you no longer have supplies of something you need in order to do it properly:
With the country running on empty, the president has no hope of winning the election.
—emptily adverb
• • •
THESAURUS
■ with nothing in it or on it
▪ empty used about something that has nothing inside:
an empty can of hair spray
|
The fridge is almost empty.
▪ blank used about a computer screen or a piece of paper that has no writing or pictures on it, or a CD, DVD etc with nothing recorded on it:
a blank sheet of paper
|
He stared at the blank screen for a few minutes.
|
a blank tape
▪ bare used about a room or cupboard that has very little in it:
His room was bare except for a bed and a wardrobe.
▪ hollow used about something that has an empty space inside:
a hollow tree
|
The suitcase had a hollow bottom.
■ with no people
▪ empty used about a place that has no one in it or no one using it:
There were no lights on and the house looked empty.
|
the empty streets
▪ free used about a seat, space, or room that is available to use because no one else is using it:
Is this seat free?
|
There are never any parking spaces free at this time of day.
▪ vacant used about a room or building that is available for people to pay to use:
a vacant apartment
|
The next guesthouse we tried had a couple of rooms vacant.
▪ deserted used about a place that is quiet because there is no one there, or because the people who used to be there have left:
a deserted village
|
It was three o'clock in the morning and the streets were deserted.
▪ uninhabited /ˌʌnɪnˈhæbətəd◂, ˌʌnɪnˈhæbɪtəd◂/ used about a place that has no people living in it, especially permanently:
an uninhabited island
▪ unoccupied /ʌnˈɒkjəpaɪd, ʌnˈɒkjʊpaɪd $ -ˈɑːk-/ especially written used about a house, room, or office that no one is living in or using at the moment:
unoccupied buildings
|
Burglaries frequently happen when people are on holiday and their house is unoccupied.
II. empty 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle emptied , present participle emptying , third person singular empties )
1 . ( also empty out ) [transitive] to remove everything that is inside something:
Did you empty the dishwasher?
empty something onto/into something
Elinor emptied the contents of the envelope onto the table.
He emptied out the ashtray.
Ruth emptied her glass (=drank all the liquid left in it) in one gulp.
2 . [intransitive] if a place empties, everyone leaves it:
The stores were closing, and the streets began to empty.
empty into something phrasal verb
if a river empties into a larger area of water, it flows into it:
The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.