empty.
Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
Meaning & usage
Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
an empty purse
an empty jug
Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.
empty words, or threats
empty offer
Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.
empty pleasures
Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.
empty dreams
Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.
empty brains
an empty coxcomb
Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.
Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.
Producing nothing; unfruitful.
an empty vine
Hungry.
Lacking between the onset of tasting and the finish.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.
To make empty; to remove the contents of.
to empty a well or a cistern
The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.
Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.
Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.
A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.
Put the empties out to be recycled.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ (“vacant, empty, free, idle, unmarried”, literally “without must or obligation, leisurely”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”) + Proto-Germanic *mōtijô, *mōtô (“must, obligation, need”), *mōtiþô (“ability, accommodation”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“measure; to acquire, possess, be in command”). Related to Old English ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.