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Glite Dictionary
to go empty-handed

to go empty-handed

1 4.8
Leave a place without getting what you wanted
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : ir con las manos vacías
  • She felt disappointed after her job interview, knowing she would go empty-handed without an offer.

Examples

  • Never go empty-handed.

    Blog text (12)

  • It's considered polite to bring a gift when visiting friends, so try not to go empty-handed.

  • Well, if we gotta go, let's not go empty-handed.

    Chopping Mall (1986)

  • When attending the potluck, everyone contributed a dish to avoid going empty-handed.

Antonyms

to achieve
∞ 2.3

To reach a goal by effort or skill

to succeed
846 2.0

To reach a goal after trying hard

How Successful

triumph
262 3.3
to succeed
846 2.0
to go empty-handed
1 4.8
to miss out
176 3.6

Surface Forms

go empty-handed infinitive
went empty-handed past
gone empty-handed past participle
going empty-handed present participle
goes empty-handed third person singular

Morphology

go + empty-handed

The meaning is directly and predictably derived from combining 'go' (to leave or move) with 'empty-handed' (without having obtained anything); a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer that 'go empty-handed' means to leave without achieving or receiving anything. This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., 'volver con las manos vacías') and follows normal English adjective + verb usage, so it is readily understandable.

Etymology

The idiom go empty-handed comes from the simple picture of returning with your hands empty, holding nothing after a trip or market visit. So, to go empty-handed means to 'receive nothing' or to 'come back without anything'.