DictionaryAI

empty

EMP-tee/ˈɛmp.ti/

Adjectiveemptier, emptiest

Verbempties, emptying, emptied

13 meanings of empty

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  1. 1
    vacantadjective
    With nothing or nobody inside, or without any of a certain thing.

    Like a glass with no water in it.

    The fridge was empty, so we ordered pizza instead.

    She found an empty seat at the back of the bus.

    Similarvacant, blank, bare, deserted, unoccupied

    Oppositefull, occupied, filled, crowded

  2. 2
    clear outverbtransitive
    To take everything out of something, or to become empty.

    Like pouring all the cereal out of a box.

    Please empty the trash before you leave tonight.

    She emptied her bag onto the table to find her keys.

    Similarevacuate, void

    Oppositefill

    Note
  3. 3
    pointless (life)adjective
    Without meaning or real happiness, or feeling hollow inside, as if something is missing.

    Like eating candy when you're really hungry: it doesn't fill you up.

    After the party ended, she felt empty and alone.

    Winning felt strangely empty once he had no one to tell.

    UsageOften feel empty.

    Similarhollow, meaningless, unsatisfying, unfulfilled

    Oppositesatisfying, fulfilling, meaningful

  4. 4
    flow intoverbintransitive
    Of a river or pipe, to flow out into a larger body of water or place.

    Like a slide that drops you into the pool at the bottom.

    The river empties into the sea near the old port.

    Several mountain streams empty into this lake.

    UsageSay a river empties into the sea.

    Similardrain, flow, discharge

    Note
  5. 5
    nothing to carryadjective
    Carrying nothing, with nothing in your hands.

    Like coming home with no shopping bags after a trip to the store.

    The truck dropped off its load and drove back empty.

    The donkeys carried food up the hill and came back empty.

    UsageOften come back empty.

    Similarunladen, unburdened

    Oppositeladen, loaded

    Note
  6. 6
    adjective
    Without real meaning, effect or honest feeling, like empty words or empty promises.

    Like a gift box with a bow but nothing inside.

    His promise turned out to be empty, and nothing ever changed.

    Stop making empty threats that you won't act on.

    UsageOften used with threats or gestures: empty threats.

    Similarhollow, meaningless, insincere, vacuous, idle

    Oppositesincere, meaningful, genuine, heartfelt

  7. 7
    hungryadjective
    Feeling hungry, with nothing in the stomach.

    By noon my stomach felt empty and I badly needed lunch.

    After the long hike I felt really empty, so we stopped for burgers on the way home.

    Similarhungry, famished, starving, ravenous

    Oppositefull, sated, satisfied

  8. 8
    zero items (code)adjective
    In computing, describes a list, set or string that holds no items but still exists.

    Like a box that is there but has nothing inside, not a box that is missing.

    The program checks whether the list is empty before adding new names.

    When your search finds nothing, the app gets back an empty list of results.

    Note

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Origin

From Old English ǣmtiġ, meaning "vacant, free, idle," literally "without obligation, leisurely." The 'p' began to appear in late Old English, added to make the word easier to say, and became usual in Middle English.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts