See Also: Empty(medicine)
empty(2)(dictionary)
empty(1)(dictionary)
empty-headed(dictionary)
empty-handed(dictionary)
empty 2, verb(dictionary)
empty 1, adjective(dictionary)
Empty Nesters(money)
magnification empty(medicine)
empty sella(medicine)

empty(1) (iou)



empty adjective & noun.

A. adjective.
At leisure, unoccupied. Also, unmarried. Only in OE.
Of a receptacle: containing nothing. Opp. full. OE.
on an empty stomach: see STOMACH noun.
A. Newman Vicky put the empty suitcase on top of the wardrobe.
b. Foll. by of, in: lacking, devoid of, (specified contents or a specified quality). L15.
G. Greene The air was empty of planes.
Of space, a place, a building, etc.: unoccupied, vacant; containing no furniture or occupants; uninhabited. OE.
S. Hazzard He lifted the folded mackintosh..he had dumped on the empty seat alongside. S. Naipaul The office..is empty and looks as if it has not been used for a long time.
b. Math. & Logic. Of a class or set: containing no members or elements. M20.
Having no load or cargo; unladen. ME.
return empty arch. (of a sword) come back without having been used in killing someone.
b. Of the hand: not bringing or taking away anything. Of a person: empty-handed. E16.
Bible (AV): Luke 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
a. Of a thing: lacking substance; meaningless, ineffectual; insincere. ME.
Isaiah Berlin Progress and reaction, however much these words have been abused, are not empty concepts.
b. Of a person: lacking knowledge and sense; frivolous, foolish. E17.
a. Of the body: shrunken, emaciated, weak. LME-E18.
b. Without money, destitute. L16-E18.
c. Hungry. Now colloq. L16.
d. Of a cow or other farm animal: not pregnant. E20.
Special collocations & comb.: empty calories: from food containing no nutrients. empty-handed adjective having or bearing nothing (come empty-handed, bring nothing, esp. no gift: go empty-handed, leave having gained nothing). empty-headed adjective lacking common sense or intelligence, frivolous. empty nest fig. a household where the parents alone remain after the children have grown up and left home. empty nester colloq. a person whose children have grown up and left home. Empty Quarter the Rub al-ali, a desert region in the south of the Arabian peninsula. empty word Grammar: having no meaning in itself but having a grammatical function.
b. noun. An empty vehicle, container, etc.; esp. one from which the contents have been removed. M19.
Time Out One can actually imagine him taking back the tavern empties.