empties

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of empty.

   He empties his pockets onto the counter as soon as he gets home.

   The river empties into the sea near the old harbor.

   Note

   Here the verb works in two directions. Someone can empty a thing, such as a drawer, a glass or their pockets, or the thing can empty by itself, as a hall empties after a concert. Rivers and ducts take the intransitive use with into: a stream empties into a lake. The y becomes ie before the ending, which is why the spelling matches the plural noun for spent bottles.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of empty.

   After the party, empties covered every surface in the kitchen.

   The delivery driver collected the empties before loading new crates.

   Note

   The adjective has turned into a noun, and that noun is far more at home in the plural: empties are bottles and other containers whose contents have been used up. Bottles are the core case, so "clear away the empties" needs no further explanation. In the singular the adjective usually does the job instead, so speakers tend to say an empty bottle rather than an empty.

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