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Webster 1913 Edition

Empty

Emp′ty

(?; 215)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Emptier
;
sup
erl.
Emptiest
.]
[AS.
emtig
,
æmtig
,
æmetig
, fr.
æmta
,
æmetta
, quiet, leisure, rest; of uncertain origin; cf. G.
emsig
busy.]
1.
Containing nothing; not holding or having anything within; void of contents or appropriate contents; not filled; – said of an inclosure, or a container, as a box, room, house, etc.;
as, an
empty
chest, room, purse, or pitcher; an
empty
stomach;
empty
shackles.
2.
Free; clear; devoid; – often with of.
“That fair female troop . . . empty of all good.”
Milton.
I shall find you
empty
of that fault.
Shakespeare
3.
Having nothing to carry; unburdened.
“An empty messenger.”
Shak.
When ye go ye shall not go
empty
.
Ex. iii. 21.
4.
Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; – said of language;
as,
empty
words, or threats
.
Words are but
empty
thanks.
Cibber.
5.
Unable to satisfy; unsatisfactory; hollow; vain; – said of pleasure, the world, etc.
Pleas’d in the silent shade with
empty
praise.
Pope.
6.
Producing nothing; unfruitful; – said of a plant or tree;
as, an
empty
vine
.
Seven
empty
ears blasted with the east wind.
Gen. xli. 27.
7.
Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy;
as,
empty
brains; an
empty
coxcomb.
That in civility thou seem'st so
empty
.
Shakespeare
8.
Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial;
as,
empty
dreams
.
Syn. – See
Vacant
.

Emp′ty

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Empties
.
An empty box, crate, cask, etc.; – used in commerce, esp. in transportation of freight;
as, “special rates for
empties
.”

Emp′ty

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Emptied
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Emptying
.]
To deprive of the contents; to exhaust; to make void or destitute; to make vacant; to pour out; to discharge;
as, to
empty
a vessel; to
empty
a well or a cistern.
The clouds . . .
empty
themselves upon the earth.
Eccl. xi. 3.

Emp′ty

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To discharge itself;
as, a river
empties
into the ocean
.
2.
To become empty.
“The chapel empties.”
B. Jonson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Empty

EMP'TY

, a.
1.
Containing nothing, or nothing but air; as an empty chest; empty space; an empty purse is a serious evil.
2.
Evacuated; not filled; as empty shackles.
3.
Unfurnished; as an empty room.
4.
Void; devoid.
In civility thou seemest so empty.
5.
Void; destitute of solid matter; as empty air.
6.
Destitute of force or effect; as empty words.
7.
Unsubstantial; unsatisfactory; not able to fill the mind or the desires. The pleasures of life are empty and unsatisfying.
Pleased with empty praise.
8.
Not supplied; having nothing to carry.
They beat him, and sent him away empty. Mark 12.
9.
Hungry.
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty.
10. Unfurnished with intellect or knowledge; vacant of head; ignorant; as an empty coxcomb.
11. Unfruitful; producing nothing.
Israel is an empty vine. Hosca 10.
Seven empty ears blasted with the east wind. Gen.41.
12. Wanting substance; wanting solidity; as empty dreams.
13. Destitute; waste;desolate.
Nineveh is empty. Nah.2.
14. Without effect.
The sword of Saul returned not empty. 2 Sam.1.
15. Without a cargo; in ballast; as, the ship returned empty.

EMP'TY

,
Verb.
T.
To exhaust; to make void or destitute; to deprive of the contents; as, to empty a vessel; to empty a well or a cistern.
1.
To pour out the contents.
The clouds empty themselves on the earth. Eccles.11.
Rivers empty themselves into the ocean.
2.
To waste; to make desolate. Jer.51.

EMP'TY

,
Verb.
I.
To pour out or discharge its contents.
The Connecticut empties into the Sound.
1.
To become empty.

Definition 2024

empty

empty

English

Adjective

empty ‎(comparative emptier, superlative emptiest)

  1. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.
    an empty purse; an empty jug; an empty stomach
    • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Part Two, Chapter 1,
      […] something in the little man's appearance suggested that he would be sufficiently attentive to his own comfort to choose the emptiest table.
    • 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
      United's stature is such that one result must not bring the immediate announcement of a shift in the balance of power in Manchester - but the swathes of empty seats around Old Trafford and the wave of attacks pouring towards David de Gea's goal in the second half emphasised that City quite simply have greater firepower and talent in their squad at present.
  2. (computing, programming) Containing no elements (as of a string or array), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
  3. (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
    • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost, Act V, Scene 2,
      I shall find you empty of that fault,
    • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book XI, lines 614-7,
      For that fair femal Troop thou sawst, that seemd / Of Goddesses, so blithe, so smooth, so gay, / Yet empty of all good wherein consists / Womans domestic honour and chief praise;
  4. Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
    • c. 1607, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, Act III, Scene 6,
      I hope it remains not unkindly with your lordship that I returned you an empty messenger.
    • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Exodus 3:21,
      And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
  5. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.
    empty words, or threats
    • 1697, Colley Cibber, Woman's Wit, Act V, page 190,
      […] words are but empty thanks; my future conduct best will speak my gratitude.
  6. Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.
    empty pleasures
    • 1713, Alexander Pope, Windsor-Forest, lines 429-30,
      Ev'n I more sweetly pass my careless days, / Pleas'd in the silent shade with empty praise;
  7. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.
    empty dreams
  8. (obsolete) Producing nothing; unfruitful; said of a plant or tree.
    an empty vine
    • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 42:27,
      […] seven empty ears blasted with the east wind […]
  9. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.
    empty brains; an empty coxcomb
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7,
      Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress? Or else a rude despiser of good manners, / That in civility thou seem'st so empty?

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

devoid of content

Verb

empty ‎(third-person singular simple present empties, present participle emptying, simple past and past participle emptied)

  1. (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to void; to remove the contents of.
    to empty a well or a cistern
    The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.
    • Bible, Eccl. xi. 3
      The clouds […] empty themselves upon the earth.
  2. (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.
    Of these the Rhine empties into the Northern ocean and the Danube into the Euxine. – Horace White's 1899 translation of Appian (2nd C.)
    Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River. – Dixon Entrance to Ketchikan

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

empty ‎(plural empties)

  1. A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.
    Put the empties out to be recycled.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English emty, 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 ġeǣmtiġian ‎(“to empty”), Old English ǣmetta ‎(“leisure”), Old English mōtan ‎(“must, might, have to”). More at mote, meet.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛmpti/
  • Hyphenation: emp‧ty

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