empty, vacant, blank, void, vacuous mean lacking contents which could or should be present. empty suggests a complete absence of contents.

EMPTY definition: containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents. See examples of empty used in a sentence.

These adjectives mean without contents that could or should be present. Empty is the broadest and can apply to what lacks contents (an empty box), occupants (an empty seat), or …

EMPTY definition: 1. not containing any things or people: 2. not sincere or without any real meaning: 3. without…. Learn more.

If you describe a person's life or a period of time as empty, you mean that nothing interesting or valuable happens in it. My life was very hectic but empty before I met him.

There are 29 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word empty, six of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Dec 14, 2025 · Grotesquely vegetal, excessively oaked, empty wines were routinely produced in the mid-1980s. Since the late 1980s, however, the quality has soared.

Definition of empty adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

• I think there's an empty seat in the back row. empty space • And her once proud position in the royal line, between her husband and father-in-law, is now an empty space.

Empty comes from an Old English word meaning "at leisure," or in other words, "unoccupied." Over time, the sense of that meaning changed from "not at work" to "devoid of contents."