empty

1 /'empti/ adjective

1 CONTAINER having nothing inside: an empty box | Your glass is empty - can I fill it up?

2 ROOM/BUILDING an empty room, building etc does not have any people in it: The house had been empty for six months before we moved in. | The hall was half-empty.

3 NOT USED not being used by anyone: I spotted an empty table in the corner. | be empty of: The roads were almost empty of traffic.

4 PERSON/LIFE unhappy because nothing interesting or important happens or because you feel your life has no purpose: His early death left her empty and despairing. | Her days were empty.

5 empty words/gestures/promises etc empty words etc are not sincere or have no effect: She knew her protest would be nothing more than an empty gesture.

6 do sth on an empty stomach to do something without having eaten any food first: Children shouldn't go to school on an empty stomach.

7 empty nest AmE the situation that parents are in when all their children have left home

— emptily adverb 2 verb

1 (T) also empty out if you empty a container, you remove everything that is in it: I had to completely empty out my bag to find my keys.

2 (T) if you empty the things that are in a container, you take or pour them out of it: It's your turn to empty the garbage. | empty sth onto/into etc: Kim emptied the candies into a glass jar.

3 (I) if a place empties, everyone leaves it: The stores were closing, and the streets began to empty.

4 (intransitive + (out) into) if a river empties into a larger area of water, it flows into it: The Elbe empties out into the North Sea.