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Glite Dictionary
🏚️ Containing nothing 😶 Lacking feeling 🧹 To remove contents 🥤 Used containers
to empty

to empty

179 1.0
To remove everything from a container or place
  • verb
  • /ˈɛmpti/
translation icon : vaciar
  • It's the end of the semester, which means the school's gonna empty out the closet and give all of our stuff to charity.
  • empty the bin
  • empty the contents
  • empty the bladder

Our apartment was robbed, ransacked, emptied, you name it.

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Examples

  • One of her biggest challenges was keeping up with emptying the recycling and food scraps bins.

    Academic text (1995)

  • And you see that I've emptied out the paint cabinet.

  • And step three, empty out all of my savings.

  • I'm going to empty out all these products.

  • Did you empty out my purse?

    Man of the Year (2006)

  • It's probably for the better that I emptied out my system first.

    Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023)

  • Hannah, baby, I need you to empty all the trash when you come in, please.

    Lights Out (2024)

  • After you empty your locker, you can turn your uniform and your sneakers in to Manny.

    School for Scoundrels (2006)

  • Here, you'll mop the toilets, hit the dishwasher... ...bus tables and empty the garbage too.

    Heat (1995)

  • Please empty the box so we can move it easily.

Synonyms

to clear
vsto empty
∞ 1.5

To remove people or things from a place

is about removing contents or becoming without contents, not mainly removing people or obstacles
to clean
vsto empty
260 1.0

To empty something completely

can also mean to have no contents rather than just removing them
to clear out
vsto empty
91 3.1

Remove all things from a place so it becomes empty

is used for removing contents or becoming without contents, not for leaving people
to clean out
vsto empty
91 3.2

Empty a place or container by removing everything inside

can mean removing everything or becoming without contents
to hollow
vsto empty
24 4.8

To remove the inside of something to make an empty space

is general removal of contents or becoming without contents, not specifically removing core
to discharge
vsto empty
12 4.4

Take people or things out of a vehicle by unloading

is about removing contents or becoming without contents, not mainly emitting substances
to hollow out
vsto empty
8 4.0

Remove the inside of something to leave an empty space

is general removal of contents or becoming without contents, not only carving out an interior
to clear off
vsto empty
8 3.0

Remove things from a surface to make it empty or clean

is broader meaning remove contents or become without contents, not just surface items
to void
vsto empty
2 5.8

To make a place empty by removing all people or things

is the general action of removing contents or becoming without contents
to clear the table
vsto empty
  • Specialized
1 4.2

Remove all rows from a database table to make it empty

is general removal of contents or becoming without contents, not only database record deletion
to empty the tank
vsto empty
3.9

Remove all fuel or other liquid from a tank until it is empty

is general removal of contents or becoming without contents, not limited to liquids

Antonyms

to fill
∞ 1.0

To make a place full by putting people or things into it

to load
572 1.0

To put things onto a vehicle or into a container

Idioms

running on empty
  • Informal
3 7.0

Very tired and having no energy or fuel left

glass half-empty
  • Informal
2 6.5

A person who often sees the negative side of things

Phrasal Verbs

to go empty-handed
1 4.8

Leave a place without getting what you wanted

to empty the clip
  • Informal
1 9.9

To fire all the bullets from a gun until none are left

to feel empty inside
1 7.5

To have a deep sadness and no meaning inside you

to empty the tank
3.9

Remove all fuel or other liquid from a tank until it is empty

to empty the tank
  • Informal
5.1

Use all your energy in a final effort until you have none left

Compounds

empty promise
10 3.8

A promise someone makes without any plan to keep it

empty suit
  • Offensive
7 8.1

A person in a position of power who has no real skills

empty nester
4 6.6

A parent whose children have grown up and left home

empty words
3 5.1

Talk that has no real meaning and is not useful

empty talk
1 4.3

Words that sound important but have no real meaning or action

empty-bellied
4.1

Feeling hungry and weak

empty quiver
  • Literature
9.9

Having nothing needed to deal with a problem

Empty Quiver approach
  • Jargon
9.9

To use all available resources and keep nothing in reserve

empty tomb
7.7

A monument honoring a person whose body is elsewhere or cannot be found

How Empty

to empty
179 1.0
to clear out
91 3.1
to strip
42 2.7
to drain
198 1.0
to remove
∞ 1.5

Surface Forms

empty infinitive
emptied past
emptied past participle
emptying present participle
empties third person singular

Etymology

The verb empty comes from the same old root æmtig, which meant 'to be without' or 'not occupied', so to empty something is to make it 'not filled' anymore.