empty means devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant. It carries an Arena rating of 1421, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, empty ranks #3,148 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #5,495 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #5,590 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #5,823 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
empty is pronounced /ˈɛm(p).ti/.
Why “empty” is a great word
Containing nothing; devoid of contents or inhabitants. From Middle English emty, amty, from Old English ǣmtiġ, ǣmettiġ ("vacant, empty, free, idle", literally "without must or obligation, leisurely"), from Proto-Germanic *uz- ("out") + *mōtijô, *mōtô ("must, obligation, need"), from Proto-Indo-European *med- ("measure; to acquire, possess"); the intrusive 'p' is a euphonic insertion from Middle English. Unlike "vacant," which implies a space awaiting its proper occupant, or "void," which declares a profound, often legal, nullity, "empty" carries a blunt, domestic honesty. It is the cold draft in an unplugged refrigerator, the apartment echoing after movers have taken the last box, the Sunday afternoon with no errands, no invitations—where the absence itself becomes a kind of leisure, and the nothing is not a failure but a measured, acquired state of unburdened room.
Etymology
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.
adj
- Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.e.g.“an empty purse”
- Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).
- Free; clear; devoid; often with of.
- Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.
- Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.e.g.“empty words, or threats”
- Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.e.g.“empty pleasures”
- Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.e.g.“empty dreams”
- Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.e.g.“empty brains”
- Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.e.g.“Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.”
- Producing nothing; unfruitful.e.g.“an empty vine”
- Hungry.
- Lacking between the onset of tasting and the finish.e.g.“Grotesquely vegetal, excessively oaked, empty wines were routinely produced in the mid-1980s. Since the late 1980s, however, the quality has soared.” — 1993, Robert M. Parker, Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, page 967:
noun
- A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.e.g.“Put the empties out to be recycled.”
verb
- To make empty; to remove the contents of.e.g.“to empty a well or a cistern”
- Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.e.g.“Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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