empty

American  

[emp-tee] / ˈɛmp ti /

adjective

emptier, emptiest

1. containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents.

   an empty bottle.

   Antonyms:

   full

2. having no occupant or occupants; 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 byof ).

   Theirs is a life now empty of happiness.

6. without force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless.

   empty compliments;

   empty pleasures.

   Synonyms:

   vain, useless, pointless, ineffectual, ineffective, futile, bootless, barren

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; senseless.

    an empty head.

11. completely spent of emotion.

    The experience had left him with an empty heart.

---

verb (used with object)

emptied, emptying

1. to make empty; deprive of contents; discharge the contents of.

   to empty a bucket.

   Synonyms:

   unload, clear

2. to discharge (contents).

   to empty the water out of a bucket.

verb (used without object)

emptied, emptying

1. to become empty.

   The room emptied rapidly after the lecture.

2. to discharge contents, as a river.

   The river empties into the sea.

noun

plural

empties

1. Informal. something that is empty, as a box, bottle, or can.

   Throw the empties into the waste bin.

empty British  

/ ˈɛmptɪ /

adjective

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. 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

1. to make or become empty

2. to discharge (contents)

3. to unburden or rid (oneself)

   to empty oneself of emotion

noun

1. an empty container, esp a bottle

empty Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing empty

• glass is half full (half empty)
• running on empty

---

Usage

What is a basic definition of empty? Empty describes something as containing nothing or to remove contents from something. Empty also describes something that is meaningless. Empty has several other senses as an adjective and a verb. If something is empty, there is nothing in it. Empty is the opposite of full and is used to describe anything that has a complete absence of contents. Sometimes, empty has slightly different specific meanings depending on context. For example, an empty room might only lack people or it might be totally bare, with no furniture. Empty is also used in many figurative expressions, such as “an empty head,” meaning the person is unintelligent.

• Real-life examples: An empty box has nothing inside it. An empty refrigerator has no food or anything else inside of it. An empty gascan has zero gas in it.
• Used in a sentence: Luis drank the bottle of soda until it was totally empty. 

In a similar sense, empty is used as a verb to mean to remove contents from something or to become empty.

• Used in a sentence: Antonio emptied the bucket of water into the river. 

As an adjective, empty can also describe something as being meaningless or hollow.

• Real-life examples: If you give an empty compliment, you don’t actually mean the compliment or believe it to be true. An empty gesture is one that you don’t intend on doing or that won’t have any effect, like offering to help your friend with math when you don’t understand the math problems, either. If you have an empty life, you think your life doesn’t have any meaning or purpose.
• Used in a sentence: My sister laughed at my empty threats of breaking her smartphone because she knew I would never actually do it. 

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• emptiable adjective
• emptier noun
• emptily adverb
• emptiness noun
• overempty adjective
• quasi-empty adjective
• self-emptying adjective
• unemptied adjective
• unempty adjective

Etymology

Origin of empty

First recorded before 900; Middle English (with intrusive -p- ); Old English ǣm(et)tig “vacant,” from ǣm(et)ta “rest, leisure” ( ǣ- a- ³ + unattested Germanic mōtithō “accommodation”; must ¹, meet ¹ ) + -ig -y ¹ )

Explanation

If you're an optimist, you're happy that your glass is still half full. If you're a pessimist, you can't help but notice that 50% of your glass is now empty — that is, it contains nothing. Empty comes from an Old English word meaning "at leisure," or in other words, "unoccupied." Over time, the sense of that meaning changed from "not at work" to "devoid of contents." By the tenth century, any container that could be filled or full could also be emptied or empty. As the word continued to evolve, it developed a more figurative sense. If you feel sad and lost, you might say that you feel so empty. If you want to go to the movies and your parents say, "No, but maybe tomorrow," you probably consider that an empty promise, one that will never be fulfilled.

Example Sentences

It was empty and heading to the Iraqi port of Khor al Zubair, according to its transponder signal, Kpler said.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Either way, concerns about empty seats may be overblown since the fourth and final phase of ticket sales didn’t begin until April 1 and tournament organizers are confident demand will match inventory.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

But none of the headline names showed, leaving conference attendees staring at an empty podium, until the session was abruptly canceled.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

This position can strain the pelvic floor, making it harder to fully empty the bladder and increasing the chance of splashing.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

After, when we’re done, he drops me off at the empty house.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• clear
• consume
• deplete
• discharge
• drain
• drink
• dump
• escape
• evacuate
• exhaust
• gut
• leak
• purge
• run out
• unload
• vacate