empty

views updated May 29 2018

emp·ty / ˈem(p)tē/ • adj. (-ti·er, -ti·est) containing nothing; not filled or occupied: the room was empty of furniture. ∎ fig. (of words or a gesture) having no meaning or likelihood of fulfillment; insincere: empty threats. ∎ fig. having no value or purpose: her life felt empty and meaningless. ∎ inf. hungry. ∎  Math. (of a set) containing no members or elements. ∎  emotionally exhausted: at the funeral he stood feeling drained and empty.• v. (-ties, -tied) [tr.] remove all the contents of (a container): we empty the cash register each night at closing time. ∎  remove (the contents) from a container: he emptied out the contents of his briefcase. ∎  [intr.] (of a place) be vacated by people in it: the bar suddenly seemed to empty. ∎  [intr.] (empty into) (of a river) discharge itself into (the sea or a lake).• n. (pl. -ties) (usu. empties) inf. a container (esp. a bottle or glass) left empty of its contents.PHRASES: running on empty exhausted of all one's resources or sustenance.DERIVATIVES: emp·ti·ly / -təlē/ adv.emp·ti·ness n.

empty

views updated May 23 2018

empty Empty Quarter alternative name for Rub' al Khali, a vast desert in the Arabian peninsula, extending from central Saudi Arabia southwards to Yemen and eastwards to the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
empty sacks will never stand upright those in an extremity of need cannot survive; saying recorded from the mid 17th century.
empty vessels make the most sound foolish and empty-headed people make the most noise (a vessel here is a receptacle such as a drinking-bowl). Saying recorded from the mid 15th century.

See also better are small fish than an empty dish.

empty

views updated May 14 2018

empty adj. OE. ǣmtiġ, ǣmet(t)iġ, f. ǣmetta leisure.
Hence empty vb. XVI.