Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - empty

 I. adjective  (emptier; -est)  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ?mettig unoccupied, from ?metta leisure, perhaps from ?- without + -metta (probably akin to motan to have to) — more at must  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. containing nothing ~ shelves  b. not occupied or inhabited an ~ building  c. unfrequented  d. not pregnant ~ heifer  e. null 4a the ~ set  2.  a. lacking reality, substance, meaning, or value ; hollow an ~ pleasure  b. destitute of effect or force an ~ threat  c. devoid of sense ; foolish  3. hungry  4.  a. idle ~ hours  b. having no purpose or result ; useless  5. marked by the absence of human life, activity, or comfort an ~ silence  • emptily adverb  • emptiness noun Synonyms:  ~, vacant, blank, void, vacuous mean lacking contents which could or should be present. ~ suggests a complete absence of contents an ~ bucket. vacant suggests an absence of appropriate contents or occupants a vacant apartment. blank stresses the absence of any significant, relieving, or intelligible features on a surface a blank wall. void suggests absolute emptiness as far as the mind or senses can determine a statement void of meaning. vacuous suggests the emptiness of a vacuum and especially the lack of intelligence or significance a vacuous facial expression.  Synonym: see in addition vain.  II. verb  (emptied; ~ing)  Date: 1548  transitive verb  1.  a. to make ~ ; remove the contents of ~ a purse  b. deprive, divest a phrase emptied of all meaning  c. to discharge (itself) of contents  d. to fire (a repeating firearm) until ~  2. to remove from what holds or encloses ~ the grain from sacks  intransitive verb  1. to become ~ the theater emptied quickly  2. to discharge contents the river empties into the ocean  III. noun  (plural empties)  Date: 1865 something (as a bottle or can) that is ~