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empty-handed

A form of emptyhanded — With nothing in one's hands.

Similar

unrewarded unsuccessful empty

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Meanings

adjectiveempty-handed (comparative more empty-handed, superlative most empty-handed)

comparative more empty-handed · superlative most empty-handed

alternativeAlternative form of emptyhanded.
United looked on course to end the season empty-handed as well as missing out on Champions League football when substitute Jason Puncheon's powerful far-post finish put Palace ahead with 12 minutes left.
2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving acquired or gained nothing

Similar

unrewarded unsuccessful

adjectivecarrying nothing in the hands

Similar

Also see

bankrupt broke empty emptyhanded hard up impoverished indigent penurious poverty-stricken stony unrewarded

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

empty-handed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empty-handed

MLA

“empty-handed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empty-handed. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “empty-handed,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empty-handed.

Source: empty-handed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.