Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for empty-handed. Search instead for emptyhanded.
Synonyms

empty-handed

American  
[emp-tee-han-did] / ˈɛmp tiˈhæn dɪd /

adjective

  1. having nothing in the hands, as in doing no work.

    While we were carrying out the luggage, he stood by empty-handed.

  2. having gained nothing.

    to return from a quest empty-handed.

  3. bringing no gift, donation, etc..

    They came to the birthday party empty-handed.
empty-handed British  

adjective

  1. carrying nothing in the hands

  2. having gained nothing

    they returned from the negotiations empty-handed
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of empty-handed

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Caudery was left empty-handed in finishing fourth at the world indoors in China last year.

From BBC

This suggests it is Arteta who is in urgent need of breaking the cycle of finishing empty-handed.

From BBC

But whether she was too nervous to do a thorough job or whether there was a more mysterious explanation, she straightened up empty-handed.

From Literature

“Marty Supreme,” which was nominated for nine awards, went home empty-handed.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Londoner went free and detectives left empty-handed.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.