6empty words/gestures/promises etcPRETENDwords etc that are not sincere, or have no effect 空话/做样子/空头许诺等
His repeated promises to pay them back were just empty words.
他一再答应还钱给他们,但只是说空话而已。
Examples from the Corpus
empty words/gestures/promises etc• Hadn't he said that to express it would be just empty words?• He expected her to trust him, but as far as she could see they were just empty words.• He listens politely, then makes plausible but essentially empty gestures.• I tried to make choices, but wound up with empty gestures.• This is the circus of empty promises and dry press releases that are part and parcel of meetings like these.• These are not empty words and phrases, but principles given powerfulinstitutionalsanction.• To all these petitions the Crown returned empty promises of redress.
7do something on an empty stomachEATto do something without having eaten any food first 空着肚子做某事
I can’t work properly on an empty stomach.
我饿着肚子就做不好事情。
Examples from the Corpus
do something on an empty stomach• I overslept and had to go to class on an emptystomach.• They report to work at 8.30am on an empty stomach.• You shouldn't take the pills on an empty stomach.• Alendronate must be taken only with a fullglass of plain water, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.• I mean, neither of us had eaten since the earlyhours, and drinking on an empty stomach is dodgy.• I tend to be very short-tempered on an empty stomach.• No use mourning on an empty stomach.• The next two got off more lightly: two spoonfuls of vinegar three times a day, also on an empty stomach.• The sensation of nausea on an empty stomach was peculiarly unpleasant.• There was little point, Manville decided, on a man eating on an empty stomach.
8.empty nest (also empty nest syndrome)LEAVE A PLACE a situation in which parents become sad because their children have grown up and moved out of their house 空巢(综合征)〔指父母因子女长大离家而难过〕
9.empty suitespecially American EnglishAmE a politician or manager who does not achieve much or does not have much ability 政绩平平的从政者;能力不强的管理者
10be running on emptyto continue doing something even though you no longer have supplies of something you need in order to do it properly 没有了供给[储备]仍在运转
With the country running on empty, the president has no hope of winning the election.
国家已在空转,总统没有希望赢得竞选。
—emptilyadverbadv
THESAURUS
with nothing in it or on it 里面或上面没有东西
empty used about something that has nothing inside 空的
an empty can of hair spray
空的喷发胶罐
The fridge is almost empty.
冰箱里几乎什么都没有。
blank used about a computer screen or a piece of paper that has no writing or pictures on it, or a CD, DVD etc with nothing recorded on it 〔计算机屏幕、纸张、唱片等〕空白的,无内容的
a blank sheet of paper
一张白纸
He stared at the blank screen for a few minutes.
他盯着空白屏幕看了好几分钟。
a blank tape
空白磁带
bare used about a room or cupboard that has very little in it 〔房间、橱柜〕空的
His room was bare except for a bed and a wardrobe.
他房间里除了一张床和一个衣橱,几乎空空如也。
hollow used about something that has an empty space inside 空(心)的;中空的
a hollow tree
空心树
The suitcase had a hollow bottom.
手提箱底部是空心的。
with no people 没有人
empty used about a place that has no one in it or no one using it 〔地方〕无人(用)的
There were no lights on and the house looked empty.
屋子里没开灯,似乎没有人在。
the empty streets
空荡荡的街道
free used about a seat, space, or room that is available to use because no one else is using it 〔座位、地方或房间〕不在使用的,空着的
Is this seat free?
这个座位没人吗?
There are never any parking spaces free at this time of day.
每天这个时间从没有空的停车位。
vacant used about a room or building that is available for people to pay to use 〔房间、建筑〕空的,未被占用的
a vacant apartment
空着的公寓
The next guesthouse we tried had a couple of rooms vacant.
我们接下来找的那家家庭旅馆有几间空房。
deserted used about a place that is quiet because there is no one there, or because the people who used to be there have left 〔地方〕空寂无人的,被舍弃的
a deserted village
荒弃的村庄
It was three o'clock in the morning and the streets were deserted.
凌晨3点,街上空寂无人。
uninhabited /ˌʌnɪnˈhæbətəd◂/ used about a place that has no people living in it, especially permanently 〔尤指永久性〕无人居住的
an uninhabited island
荒岛
unoccupied /ʌnˈɒkjəpaɪd $ -ˈɑːk-/ especially written used about a house, room, or office that no one is living in or using at the moment 〔房子、房间或办公室〕未被占用的,空着的
unoccupied buildings
空置的大楼
Burglaries frequently happen when people are on holiday and their house is unoccupied.
主人外出度假、房屋空着的时候,经常会发生入室盗窃。
Examples from the Corpus
empty• After the divorce, he felt alone and empty.• Is this seat empty?• It was 2 o'clock in the morning and the streets were completely empty.• We've only got one bottle of milk left, and that's halfempty.• We were a little worried to find that half the seats in the theatre were empty.• And his pictures were rather empty.• As we did, I looked out in the bleachers, which were totally empty.• Despite a hugeinvestment, they have come up empty.• Large areas of the room were simply empty.• Half the classroom was empty.• I noticed her glass was empty, and offered her some more wine.• I was surprised that the train was half empty at that time of day.• There were two emptybeer bottles on the table.• Could you pick up the empty beer cans over there?• an emptycanvas with a few redblobs in the centre• The small company of members looked completely dwarfed in the vast, cavernous space of the almost emptyconcerthall.• He sipped his cocoa and placed the emptycup on his plate.• There was nothing at all in the room except an empty cupboard.• Then I walked across emptyfields for some hours until I reached a village.• The house was empty for two months before it was sold.• I hate coming home to an empty house late at night.• They were young children under a sky that was empty of electromagnetic waves.• Police say the shot was fired from an empty office building across the street.• He stared at the emptypage. The test was nearly over, and he hadn't managed to answer any of the questions.• My footstepsechoed across the empty room.• They have three empty rooms now that the kids have moved out.• I think there's an empty seat in the back row.
empty space• And her once proudposition in the royal line, between her husband and father-in-law, is now an empty space.• They did away with the ether 100 years ago or so, and settled for empty space.• Often, you came up with an inch or two of empty space at the bottom of the page.• Said he liked all that empty space on the right.• When he left, she stared at the empty space on the wall where his rosarybeads had been.• The air of empty spaces still lingered around her.• Another day we returned to find an empty space where my harmonium should have been.
stood empty• After they left, Belvedere sawvariousperiods of use and disuse but, by the 1970s, stood empty.• But old Miss Pritchett had died three months ago and since then the house had stood empty.• But yesterday the magnificentpalacestood empty.• The door stood open and the railsstood empty.• Two of the dressing rooms stood empty but the door to Wardrobe had been closed.• Having stood empty for many years, 1987/88 saw the start of considerable renovations and rebuilding.• The hospital was demolished in 1966 after a fire and having stood empty for years.• The ghetto schools were crowded, while hundreds of classrooms stood empty in white schools.
feeling empty• But he was left feeling empty.• Gao Mawolfed down ome leftoverrice and walked out on to the sandbar behind his house, tillfeeling empty inside.• Predictably, feeling empty is given by Pines as a cause of chronic over-eating.• The feeling empties out of my face.• This leaves the person feeling empty - sometimes totally empty.• He drove away feeling emptier than his old vacant building.
empty2 ●●○ verb (emptied, emptying, empties)
1 (also empty out) [transitiveT]PUT to remove everything that is inside something 倒空,倾空
Did you empty the dishwasher?
你把洗碗机腾空了吗?
empty something onto/into something
Elinor emptied the contents of the envelope onto the table.
埃莉诺把信封里的东西全倒在桌子上。
He emptied out the ashtray.
他倒空了烟灰缸。
Ruth emptied her glass (=drank all the liquid left in it) in one gulp.
露丝将玻璃杯里的东西一饮而尽。
2[intransitiveI]LEAVE A PLACE if a place empties, everyone leaves it 〔场所〕变空,人全走光
The stores were closing, and the streets began to empty.
商铺陆续关门,街道开始变得空荡荡的。
3empty into somethingphrasal verbphr vif a river empties into a larger area of water, it flows into it 〔河流〕流入,注入
The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
密西西比河汇入墨西哥湾。
Examples from the Corpus
empty into • The large four poster like a barge of state sailedempty intoemptiness three centuries too late.• His room looks as if the contents were emptied into it from ceiling height.• The road crawledupward toward the place where the saddleemptied intosky.• The thicket leads into a compact marshy wetland, the fifthbiome, which finally emptied into the lagoon.• The system empties into the ocean about four miles off the coast of Point Loma.• Water from the cross street swirled around its base, forming whirlpools before emptying into the sea.• His spermductsempty into this pouch so that the eggs are quickly and efficiently fertilised.
Examples from the Corpus
empty• She came up with a routine for visiting the tables, and even managed to empty a few ashtrays.• When we reached Dortmund the carriageemptied, and I was left alone.• By the autumn, the hotels along the seafront were emptying, and the town became quiet again.• On Saturday night, most of the clubsempty at around 3 am.• It was absolutely pouring down as though some one up top was emptyingbuckets.• "See you, " he called, emptying his glass and making for the door.• The chair against the wall, which was the only thing to come close to helping him empty his mind.• The garbage cans are emptied once a week.• The police made us stand against the wall and told us to empty our pockets.• Alice hurriedly put out the cigarette and got up to empty the ashtray.• Alternatively, you will need to empty the bath and refill it with clean water.• We crept up behind him and emptied the bucket of water over his head.• She emptied the contents of the tin into a pan.• The judgeemptied the courtroom when fighting almost broke out between members of the defendant's family.• Paul emptied the glass and washed it.• Could you empty the wastebasket - it's getting pretty full.• Once again maskedgunmen appeared, lined up all the passengers, and emptied their pockets of valuables.• You can empty those glasses out in the sink.• Then, next time you go to the toilet, try this stop test half way through emptying your bladder.