Definition of "empty" in 英语

adjective

1. Devoid of content; containing nothing or nobody; vacant.

   • an empty purse
   • an empty jug
   • an empty stomach

2. (computing, programming, mathematics) Containing no elements (as of a string, array, or set), opposed to being null (having no valid value).

3. (obsolete) Free; clear; devoid; often with of.

4. Having nothing to carry, emptyhanded; unburdened.

5. Destitute of effect, sincerity, or sense; said of language.

   • empty words, or threats
   • empty offer
   • empty promises

6. Unable to satisfy; hollow; vain.

   • empty pleasures

7. Destitute of reality, or real existence; unsubstantial.

   • empty dreams

8. Destitute of, or lacking, sense, knowledge, or courtesy.

   • empty brains
   • an empty coxcomb

9. (of some female animals, especially cows and sheep) Not pregnant; not producing offspring when expected to do so during the breeding season.

   • Empty cow rates have increased in recent years.

10. (obsolete, of a plant or tree) Producing nothing; unfruitful.

    • an empty vine

11. Hungry.

12. (oenology) Lacking between the onset of tasting and the finish.

verb

1. (transitive, ergative) To make empty; to remove the contents of.

   • to empty a well or a cistern
   • The cinema emptied quickly after the end of the film.
   • The suspected thief was requested to empty her pockets.

2. (intransitive) Of a river, duct, etc: to drain or flow toward an ultimate destination.

   • Salmon River empties on the W shore about 2 miles below Bear River.

noun

1. (chiefly in the plural) A container, especially a bottle, whose contents have been used up, leaving it empty.

   • Put the empties out to be recycled.