How to Use empty in a Sentence

empty

1 of 3 adjective
  • She felt trapped in an empty marriage.
  • The arena was completely empty.
  • One even stored it in an empty paint can in their garage.
    Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 22 Sep. 2023
  • The space that housed the studio sits empty, chairs and tables gone.
    Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2023
  • The chair is empty — the seat that remains unclaimed at the table.
    Britt Riner, Fox News, 27 May 2023
  • Even though our children have moved away, the nest doesn’t feel empty to me.
    Danny Heitman, WSJ, 5 Nov. 2023
  • Where cafes and shops now thrive, there were empty storefronts and open-air drug markets in the 1990s.
    Omari Daniels, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
  • Most of it involved moving Kleenex and changing the amount of light in empty rooms.
    Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
  • The platform was empty except for a lone man in a wheelchair.
    Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Use an empty container or toy box and place a few of your child’s toys in it.
    Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The doors to the police station were locked and the building lobby was empty, the news report said.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Both teams came up empty in the five-minute overtime period to force the shootout.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2024
  • On Thursday, Halls said Gutierrez first brought him the gun and showed him that the chamber was empty.
    Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Missing was Bilirakis -- and there are two empty seats in the chamber.
    WSJ, 18 Oct. 2023
  • Those can take more than 50 hours to charge a vehicle from empty to 80% full.
    Bret Baier, Fox News, 30 Dec. 2023
  • There was no one ahead of her, leaving the roughly 30 feet of loading area empty.
    Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Jan. 2024
  • The movie star was found nude and face down on her bed with a telephone in one hand and empty pill bottles scattered around the room.
    Lizzy Rosenberg, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2023
  • Michael Rasmussen scored an empty netter to seal the deal with 6 seconds left.
    Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Your glass can either be half empty or half full, and my glass is always half full.
    Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Notably, Biden’s public schedule is still empty for the first two days of COP28.
    Jon McGowan, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • After several squeezes, the egg will be empty and ready to return to the safety of the carton.
    Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 9 Feb. 2024
  • On a Sunday morning, the place was empty save for one family, and the air was quiet.
    Mya Guarnieri, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024
  • One of the mountainside homes is believed to have been empty at the time, officials said.
    Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 23 Nov. 2023
  • She’s seen bears punch through old garage doors and use the crawl spaces under empty houses as dens.
    Praveena Somasundaram, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Aug. 2023
  • At dawn Wednesday, the streets of central Jenin city were empty and quiet, save for the sound of distant gunfire from the camp.
    Lorenzo Tugnoli, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
  • Cons There is no empty cycle for changing out the litter.
    Katherine Alex Beaven, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023
  • The first, hour-long episode was kinky yet empty, like a visit to a red-light district during the pandemic.
    Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 4 June 2023
  • Thankfully, the schools were already empty by that time.
    Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2024
  • Remove from heat, push vegetables to one side of the pot, pour brandy into empty side, and ignite with a match.
    Adriene Rathbun, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2024
  • The implication is that the harder the squeeze, the sweeter the juice—that there’s virtue in staring down the empty page, taming it, forcing it to give way to prose.
    Christopher Beam, WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023
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empty

2 of 3 verb
  • It's your turn to empty the trash.
  • She emptied the contents of her purse onto the table.
  • The dock empties the dirt basket and cleans and dries the mop.
    Medea Giordano, WIRED, 11 July 2023
  • Keep in Mind The dustbin may need to be emptied mid-clean.
    Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Jan. 2024
  • Over nearly four hours, the thief emptied out most of the cellar.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2023
  • To rinse the beans, open the cans and empty the contents into a colander.
    Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Mar. 2023
  • Then use a shop vac or sponge to empty the inside of the toilet.
    Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, 24 Mar. 2023
  • After, the tool is easy to empty and there was no need to pick any stubborn hairs off of the roller.
    Jodhaira Rodriguez, goodhousekeeping.com, 11 Apr. 2023
  • Just need to make sure Wednesday hasn't emptied the pool first.
    Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The dustbin is easy to empty, and the dustbin and filters are all washable.
    Terri Williams, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 July 2023
  • Trash cans won’t be emptied, delaying refuse pickup by one day for the rest of the week.
    David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023
  • So on a child’s day, they are required to empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, feed the dog, etc.
    Melissa Willets, Parents, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Keep in Mind The dustbin is a little hard to empty, and hair can get stuck inside.
    Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2023
  • The quickest way to empty the pipeline is not to wait until all the shows are shot but to stop the shows from shooting.
    Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 May 2023
  • And porta-potties that are full of poop and unable to be emptied.
    Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2023
  • The game was so lopsided Kings coach Mike Brown emptied the bench at the start of the fourth quarter with his team down by 28 points.
    Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Also think about the size of the dust bin, which will impact how often the vacuum needs to be emptied.
    Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 June 2023
  • After The Safer is emptied, it must then be cleaned to ensure no oil residue is left, Gressly said.
    Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 28 July 2023
  • As the stands emptied, the bull was taken back into the corrals, where it was killed and then prepared to be eaten as meat.
    James Wagner Luis Antonio Rojas, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024
  • In northern Israel and near the Gaza border, villages and farms have been emptied.
    Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The building was emptied before getting power washed and the sheetrock ripped out and replaced.
    Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Don’t empty your rainy day fund at the nearest convenience store just yet.
    Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2023
  • As midnight approached, the church emptied out, and about 60 people sat in darkness watching the marathon’s last leg.
    Alex Vadukul, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Laundry can seem like an endless chore when your hamper starts to fill up as soon as it's emptied.
    Barbara Bellesi Zito, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Nov. 2023
  • And with enough space inside to hold up to three pounds of ice, you won’t be stuck constantly emptying it throughout the day.
    Rebecca Martinson, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2023
  • As the restaurant emptied before game time, Jett got restless.
    Emma Carmichael, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
  • Two players from each tribe must race to empty a crate full of rope and sandbags, revealing a key.
    Selome Hailu, Variety, 27 Sep. 2023
  • By then, Drake’s entire sideline had emptied, rushing the field.
    Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2023
  • However, that does mean more frequent trips to empty the drip tray.
    Jamie Kim, Good Housekeeping, 28 Feb. 2023
  • Benches from both sidelines emptied onto the field as Zavala was being looked at.
    Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 8 Oct. 2023
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empty

3 of 3 noun
  • Days, even weeks, in a tent or a bivouac, the hours empty of all but numbing chores and the howling of the wind.
    Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2020
  • But the stench that Sánchez referred to comes from a sewage pipe that empties near the Muelle Real.
    Mario J. Pentón, miamiherald, 7 June 2018
  • Heiskanen’s goal came with the Stars’ net empty and was his first since Dec. 3, a stretch of 33 games.
    Matthew Defranks, Dallas News, 28 Feb. 2020
  • Schedule a free pick-up for your Loop Tote filled with empties.
    Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, 25 Mar. 2019
  • But they weren't finished -- the group pulled through the drive-through lane and threw an empty can through its window.
    Kendall Trammell and Deanna Hackney, CNN, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Since candles come in all shapes and sizes, there are a ton of ways to reuse your empties.
    Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 7 Apr. 2023
  • After the show, the Echoplex staff empties out the venue, letting only those fans who spent $100 for a meet-and-greet linger.
    Jaime Falcón, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2023
  • When the boys game is played first, what often happens is once the game ends, the gym empties while the girls are warming up.
    OregonLive.com, 29 Jan. 2018
  • And, best of all, the vacuum empties itself, so dust stays out of sight and your hands stay clean.
    Stephanie Mlot, PCMAG, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Then again, their try-hard meter is on empty and Young would help their pass rush.
    Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 2 Dec. 2019
  • The dugout empties, the rest of the team stampedes to shallow left field to find the hero and hug him or tackle him or tear at his jersey.
    Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2019
  • Oak Creek empties into the Verde River, a key source of water forthe Phoenix area.
    Ian James, azcentral, 14 July 2019
  • And even though only one person walked away with the big bonus, no one left empty handed.
    NBC News, 31 Oct. 2017
  • The kayaks loop around a bend and, where Bull Creek empties into it from a thick stand of forest, the water is as clear as vodka.
    Scott Wilson, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2018
  • Luding stops Overhardt twice. 5-3 Blichfeld with the net empty picks up a loose puck that stopped in the Seattle zone.
    Dylan Bumbarger, OregonLive.com, 12 Feb. 2018
  • Officers from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife found the bear there amid a pile of punctured empties.
    Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Fans clamor for riders to toss them their empties at the finish, and scramble for the souvenirs.
    Washington Post, 12 July 2019
  • The horses are saddled in the paddock in two shifts, and at least one stall is kept empty between horses.
    Joe Drape, New York Times, 12 May 2020
  • Adding protein and fiber to a meal will slow down the rate at which your stomach empties, and glucose will get into the blood more slowly.
    Karina Zaiets, USA Today, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Anyone looking to be sniffed by a chinchilla is welcome to partake until the next band goes on and the room empties out.
    Jackson Landers, SPIN, 8 June 2023
  • With Tillerson’s departure, this leaves eight of the nine top jobs at the State Department empty.
    Michael Andor Brodeur, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Mar. 2018
  • At my work, the cleaning service empties everything in the fridge at close of business on Friday.
    Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 24 Oct. 2019
  • Plaine Products Send your empties back with Plaine Products.
    Mandy Ferreira, Good Housekeeping, 24 Aug. 2017
  • Trump didn’t exactly walk away from the G20 empty handed.
    Rob Tornoe, Philly.com, 9 July 2017
  • Watching your personal pile of empties stack up in front of you is a game unto itself.
    Bon Appetit, 19 Mar. 2018
  • After dark, when the memorial park across the street empties and office workers head home, Perelman lights up like a lantern.
    Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
  • The action came after large cruise ships were sailing on the Giudecca canal, one of the main waterways through Venice that empties into St. Mark's basin.
    Travis Fedschun, Fox News, 29 Apr. 2018
  • The clean area of carpet that was revealed looked bizarre: a rectangle of dark-blue berber empty of debris, save for a single scrap of pink paper.
    J. Robert Lennon, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
  • Also, a good, fiber-rich diet empties and cleans out the ass naturally.
    Dan Savage, Chicago Reader, 16 May 2018
  • After her performance came to an end, no one left empty handed.
    Kendall Lindsay, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'empty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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