empty

CEFRA1

/ˈɛm(p).ti/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Containing nothing inside.

  2. 02

    verb

    To remove everything from a container or place.

Examples

  • My life would be completely empty without you.

  • The curtain rose to reveal an empty stage.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈem(p).tʰi]
  • [ˈɛm(p).tʰi]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings
  1. Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).

  2. Free; clear; devoid; often with of.

  3. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.

More examples

In context
  • Empty vessels make the most sound.

  • an empty jug

  • an empty purse

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Please blank the trash bin before it overflows with waste.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English emty, amty, 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 ġeǣmtigian (“to empty”), ǣmetta (“leisure”), mōtan (“can, to be allowed”). More at mote, meet. The interconsonantal excrescent p is a euphonic insertion dating from Middle English.