Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - empty

~1 adj 1 »CONTAINER« having nothing inside  (an empty box | Your glass is empty - can I fill it up?) 2 »ROOM/BUILDING« an empty room, building etc does not have any people in it  (The house had been empty for six months before we moved in. | The hall was half-empty.) 3 »NOT USED« not being used by anyone  (I spotted an empty table in the corner. | be empty of)  (The roads were almost empty of traffic.) 4 »PERSON/LIFE« unhappy because nothing interesting or important happens or because you feel your life has no purpose  (His early death left her empty and despairing. | Her days were empty.) 5 empty words/gestures/promises etc empty words etc are not sincere or have no effect  (She knew her protest would be nothing more than an empty gesture.) 6 do sth on an empty stomach to do something without having eaten any food first  (Children shouldn't go to school on an empty stomach.) 7 empty nest AmE the situation that parents are in when all their children have left home - emptily adv ~2 v 1 also empty out if you empty a container, you remove everything that is in it  (I had to completely empty out my bag to find my keys.) 2 if you empty the things that are in a container, you take or pour them out of it  (It's your turn to empty the garbage. | empty sth onto/into etc)  (Kim emptied the candies into a glass jar.) 3 if a place empties, everyone leaves it  (The stores were closing, and the streets began to empty.) 4 I + (out) into if a river empties into a larger area of water, it flows into it  (The Elbe empties out into the North Sea.)