Meaning of empty in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Definitions
  3. Classifying Adjective
    1. Definitions
  4. Noun
    1. Definitions
  5. Qualitative Adjective
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈɛm(p)ti/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Verb

    empty

    Definitions

    1. make void or empty of contents

    Examples

    • « Empty the box »
    • « The alarm emptied the building »

    Antonyms

    Derived terms

  2. 2. become empty or void of its content

    Examples

    • « The room emptied »

    Antonyms

  3. 3. leave behind empty

    Examples

    • « move out of »
    • « You must vacate your office by tonight »
  4. 4. remove

    Examples

    • « Empty the water »

    Derived terms

  5. 5. excrete or discharge from the body

    Derived terms

  6. Classifying Adjective

    empty

    Definitions

    1. devoid of significance or point

    Examples

    • « empty promises »
    • « a hollow victory »
    • « vacuous comments »

    Synonyms

  7. 2. having nothing inside

    Examples

    • « an empty sphere »

    Synonyms

  8. 3. needing nourishment

    Examples

    • « after skipped lunch the men were empty by suppertime »
    • « empty-bellied children »

    Synonyms

  9. 4. emptied of emotion

    Examples

    • « after the violent argument he felt empty »

    Synonyms

  10. Noun

    empty

    Definitions

    1. a container that has been emptied

    Examples

    • « return all empties to the store »

    Derived terms

  11. Qualitative Adjective

    empty

    Etymology

    Old English ǣmtig, ǣmetig ‘at leisure, empty’, from ǣmetta ‘leisure’, perhaps from ā ‘no, not’ + mōt ‘meeting’ (see moot)

    Definitions

    1. holding or containing nothing

    Examples

    • « an empty glass »
    • « an empty room »
    • « full of empty seats »
    • « empty hours »

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

Famous quotes

  • « Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. »
    Charles Spurgeon
  • « I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it. »
    Ernest Hemingway
  • « One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home. »
    Pam Brown
  • « The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one. »
    Malcolm Forbes
  • « In the Lord's Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach. »
    Woodrow Wilson

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