WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
emp•ty /ˈɛmpti/USA pronunciation
adj., -ti•er, -ti•est, v., -tied, -ty•ing, n., pl. -ties.
adj.
v.
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026adj.
- containing nothing;
without contents:an empty toy box. - vacant;
unoccupied;
without people:a lonely, empty house. - lacking force, effect, or significance;
meaningless:empty promises.
v.
- to (cause to) become empty: [no object]The lecture hall emptied.[~ + object]She emptied her glass.
n. [countable]
- Informal Termsan empty container:Glass empties can be recycled.
emp•ty
(emp′tē),USA pronunciation adj., -ti•er, -ti•est, v., -tied, -ty•ing, n., pl. -ties.
adj.
v.t.
v.i.
n.
emp′ti•a•ble, adj.
emp′ti•er, n.
emp′ti•ly, adv.
emp′ti•ness, n.
adj.
- containing nothing;
having none of the usual or appropriate contents:an empty bottle. - vacant;
unoccupied:an empty house. - without cargo or load:an empty wagon.
- destitute of people or human activity:We walked along the empty streets of the city at night.
- destitute of some quality or qualities;
devoid (usually fol. by of ):Theirs is a life now empty of happiness. - without force, effect, or significance;
hollow;
meaningless:empty compliments; empty pleasures. - not employed in useful activity or work;
idle:empty summer days. - Mathematics(of a set) containing no elements;
null;
void. - hungry:I'm feeling rather empty —let's have lunch.
- without knowledge or sense;
frivolous;
foolish:an empty head. - completely spent of emotion:The experience had left him with an empty heart.
v.t.
- to make empty;
deprive of contents;
discharge the contents of:to empty a bucket. - to discharge (contents):to empty the water out of a bucket.
v.i.
- to become empty:The room emptied rapidly after the lecture.
- to discharge contents, as a river:The river empties into the sea.
n.
- Informal Termssomething that is empty, as a box, bottle, or can:Throw the empties into the waste bin.
- bef. 900; Middle English (with intrusive -p-); Old English ǣmettig vacant (ǣmett(a) leisure (ǣ- a-3 + Gmc *mōtithō accommodation; compare must1, meet1) + -ig -y1)
emp′ti•er, n.
emp′ti•ly, adv.
emp′ti•ness, n.
- 1. vacuous. Empty, vacant, blank, void denote absence of content or contents. Empty means without appropriate or accustomed contents:an empty refrigerator.Vacant is usually applied to that which is temporarily unoccupied:a vacant chair; three vacant apartments.Blank applies to surfaces free from any marks or lacking appropriate markings, openings, etc.:blank paper; a blank wall.Void emphasizes completely unfilled space with vague, unspecified, or no boundaries:void and without form. 6. delusive, vain. 12. unload, unburden.
- 1. full.
'emptiness' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):