Metaphors for empty are fun word pictures that compare two different things to help explain an idea clearly. People use them every day to make their speaking and writing more colorful and exciting. In this lesson, you will learn sixty helpful metaphors that describe things being empty, hollow, or lacking content.
In this lesson, we’ll look at metaphors that mean feeling vacant, blank, or stripped of anything inside. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Metaphors for Empty
1. A hollow shell
Meaning: Something that looks whole on the outside but is completely empty and vacant inside.
For Example: After eating all the nuts, the peanut shell was left as a hollow shell. / Without any plans for the weekend, his schedule felt like a hollow shell.
Other Ways to Say: An empty casing / A vacant frame
2. A dry well
Meaning: A water source that has run completely dry and holds no more liquid.
For Example: During the hot summer drought, the farm’s old water hole became a dry well. / His brain felt like a dry well when he tried to think of a story idea.
Other Ways to Say: A drained spring / An empty basin
3. A blank page
Meaning: A piece of paper or a mind that has no words, marks, or thoughts written on it yet.
For Example: When the test started, my mind was temporarily a blank page. / Opening the new notebook showed a clean, blank page waiting for a story.
Other Ways to Say: An open slate / A fresh sheet
4. A ghost town
Meaning: A place that used to be full of life and people, but is now totally deserted and empty.
For Example: After school ended for the summer, the playground became a quiet ghost town. / The shopping mall looked like a ghost town late at night.
Other Ways to Say: A deserted place / An abandoned area
5. An empty nest
Meaning: A home where children have grown up and moved away, leaving it quiet and vacant.
For Example: When the oldest kids went off to college, the house became an empty nest. / My grandparents felt a quiet stillness in their newly formed empty nest.
Other Ways to Say: A quiet home / A vacant house
6. A bare tree
Meaning: A plant that has dropped all its leaves and stands empty of foliage during winter.
For Example: In the middle of January, the oak in our yard was just a bare tree. / The winter landscape featured one tall, bare tree against the gray sky.
Other Ways to Say: A leafless plant / A stripped branch
7. A silent tomb
Meaning: A place or room that is completely devoid of noise, movement, or life.
For Example: After everyone went to bed, the dark house felt like a silent tomb. / The abandoned castle room was as quiet as a silent tomb.
Other Ways to Say: A quiet crypt / A still vault
8. A desert wasteland
Meaning: A vast, dry region completely lacking in water, plants, or population.
For Example: The hot sand dunes stretched out like an empty desert wasteland. / Without any toys in the box, the playroom felt like a desert wasteland.
Other Ways to Say: A barren plain / An empty expanse
9. A stripped bone
Meaning: A bone that has had all of its meat and substance completely eaten away.
For Example: The hungry puppy chewed on the chicken bone until it was a stripped bone. / After the scavengers finished, the meal left behind a stripped bone.
Other Ways to Say: A bare skeleton / A clean frame
10. A vacant throne seat
Meaning: A royal chair or leadership position that has nobody sitting in it.
For Example: When the king stepped down, the golden chair became a vacant throne seat. / Without a team captain, the position felt like a vacant throne seat.
Other Ways to Say: An empty chair / A blank post
11. A bottomless pit
Meaning: A deep hole that holds nothing at the bottom and seems to go on forever.
For Example: Throwing toys into the messy toy chest felt like dropping them into a bottomless pit. / My little brother’s stomach acts like a bottomless pit for snacks.
Other Ways to Say: A endless abyss / A deep void
12. A cleared stage
Meaning: A theater platform that has all the actors, props, and scenery removed from it.
For Example: After the school play finished, the crew left behind a cleared stage. / When everyone went to lunch, the gymnasium floor looked like a cleared stage.
Other Ways to Say: An empty platform / A bare floor
13. A hollow echo
Meaning: A sound bouncing around inside a large, empty room with nothing to absorb it.
For Example: Shouting in the vacant gymnasium produced a loud, hollow echo. / Her footsteps made a hollow echo down the empty hallway.
Other Ways to Say: A ringing sound / A bouncing tone
14. A bare cupboard
Meaning: A food pantry that has no groceries, snacks, or supplies left inside.
For Example: Before grocery shopping day, mother opened the door to a bare cupboard. / The old cabin had a completely bare cupboard with zero food.
Other Ways to Say: An empty pantry / A vacant shelf
15. A clear sky
Meaning: The open atmosphere above that has zero clouds or storms filling it.
For Example: On a sunny afternoon, the blue overhead looked like a clear sky. / There was not a single cloud in the clear sky today.
Other Ways to Say: An open canopy / A cloudless expanse
16. A blank canvas
Meaning: A piece of art material that has no paint, drawings, or colors on it yet.
For Example: Every morning is like a blank canvas waiting for you to create a good day. / She stared at the blank canvas before dipping her brush in blue paint.
Other Ways to Say: An open slate / A fresh painting board
17. A drained battery
Meaning: An electronic power source that has zero energy left to run anything.
For Example: After playing video games all night, his tablet had a drained battery. / By the end of the long soccer game, my energy felt like a drained battery.
Other Ways to Say: An empty power source / A spent cell
18. A hollow log
Meaning: A fallen tree trunk whose inside has rotted away, leaving a vacant tunnel.
For Example: We found a family of friendly chipmunks living inside a hollow log. / The squirrel hid its acorns inside the middle of a hollow log.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant wood pipe / An empty timber
19. A deserted island
Meaning: A small piece of land surrounded by water that has no people living on it.
For Example: Robinson Crusoe lived alone on a deserted island for many years. / The remote sandbar looked like a deserted island in the middle of the lake.
Other Ways to Say: An unpeopled shore / A solitary land
20. A barren field
Meaning: A plot of farmland that has no crops, grass, or flowers growing in the soil.
For Example: After the winter freeze, the garden bed looked like a barren field. / The farmer plowed the barren field before planting corn seeds.
Other Ways to Say: An empty farm plot / A bare pasture
21. A hollow reed
Meaning: A tall marsh plant with a stem that is completely empty and hollow inside.
For Example: He cut the grass stem to use like a hollow reed straw. / The riverbank was lined with tall, swaying hollow reeds.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant stem / A tubular plant
22. A vacant locker
Meaning: A school storage metal box that has all books and jackets taken out of it.
For Example: On the very last day of school, my locker was a vacant locker. / Cleaning out my backpack left it feeling like a vacant locker.
Other Ways to Say: An empty cubby / A bare metal box
23. A silent classroom
Meaning: A school room where all the students have left and no voices are heard.
For Example: Walking past after hours, the schoolroom was a silent classroom. / During test time, the room turned into a silent classroom.
Other Ways to Say: A quiet study room / An empty school space
24. A dry sponge
Meaning: A cleaning tool that has no water or liquid absorbed inside its holes.
For Example: Before washing the dishes, grandmother grabbed a stiff, dry sponge. / The kitchen counter was wiped clean with a dry sponge.
Other Ways to Say: An unsoaked pad / A waterless absorbent
25. A hollow shell of a car
Meaning: An old automobile body that has had the engine and seats removed.
For Example: In the old junkyard, we spotted the rusty, hollow shell of a car. / The burned vehicle was reduced to a hollow shell of a car.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant auto frame / An empty chassis
26. A bare wall
Meaning: A room partition that has no paintings, posters, or decorations hanging on it.
For Example: When we moved into the new house, every room had a bare wall. / He hung a poster of his favorite basketball player on the bare wall.
Other Ways to Say: An unadorned partition / A blank divider
27. An empty shell of a building
Meaning: A structure that has outer walls standing, but no furniture or people inside.
For Example: The old grocery store was left as an empty shell of a building. / After the fire, only an empty shell of a building remained.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant structure / A bare facility
28. A hollow coconut
Meaning: A large brown seed that has had all its milk and white meat scooped out.
For Example: We used the clean, hollow coconut as a small cup at the beach. / The monkey rolled around a hollow coconut shell in the sand.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant nut / An empty shell
29. A quiet stage coach
Meaning: An old horse carriage that carries no passengers along the dusty road.
For Example: In the history museum display, the old carriage sat like a quiet coach. / The abandoned wagon rolled down the trail with an empty seat.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant carriage / A riderless cart
30. A toothless jaw
Meaning: A mouth that has lost its teeth, leaving empty spaces along the gums.
For Example: The funny cartoon character smiled widely with a toothless jaw. / My baby sister gave a huge grin with her toothless jaw.
Other Ways to Say: A gap-toothed smile / An empty mouth
31. A drained swimming pool
Meaning: A concrete basin that has all its water pumped out for cleaning.
For Example: In early spring, the backyard pool was a drained swimming pool. / Skaters practiced tricks safely inside the empty, drained swimming pool.
Other Ways to Say: An empty water basin / A dry pool
32. A vacant theater seat
Meaning: A plush chair in a movie house that has nobody sitting in it.
For Example: We found a single vacant theater seat near the back row. / The popcorn box was left behind on a vacant theater seat.
Other Ways to Say: An empty cinema chair / A bare auditorium place
33. A bald patch
Meaning: A spot on a lawn or carpet where all the grass or fibers are missing.
For Example: The puppy dug a hole, leaving a bald patch on the front lawn. / Heavy foot traffic created a bald patch in the hallway carpet.
Other Ways to Say: A bare spot / An empty area
34. A quiet harbor
Meaning: A boat dock area that has zero ships or vessels docked in the water.
For Example: Late at night, the fishing port looked like a quiet harbor. / Without any boats anchored there, the bay was a quiet harbor.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant dock / An empty marina
35. A stripped calendar
Meaning: A date tracker that has had all its past months torn off and thrown away.
For Example: At the end of December, our kitchen wall had a stripped calendar. / Looking at the old planner, it felt like a stripped calendar of events.
Other Ways to Say: A blank schedule / An empty planner
36. An unwritten book
Meaning: A novel or story that has blank pages with no ink printed on them.
For Example: The author stared at the unwritten book sitting on his desk. / My future feels like an unwritten book waiting for me to author it.
Other Ways to Say: A blank novel / An empty story
37. A hollow gourd
Meaning: A dried autumn squash whose seeds and insides have been scooped out.
For Example: Native artists painted designs on the hollow gourd to make a rattle. / We dried a hollow gourd to use as a decoration in the fall.
Other Ways to Say: An empty squash / A vacant pod
38. A quiet arena
Meaning: A sports stadium that has no fans, players, or noise inside it.
For Example: The morning before the big game, the stadium was a quiet arena. / After the concert ended, the stadium turned into a quiet arena.
Other Ways to Say: An empty colosseum / A vacant stadium
39. A cleared plate
Meaning: A dinner dish that has had all of its food completely eaten up.
For Example: After enjoying his pancakes, he showed mother his cleared plate. / The waiter picked up a stack of cleared plates from our table.
Other Ways to Say: An empty dish / A finished platter
40. A barren hill
Meaning: A mound of earth that has no trees, bushes, or grass growing on it.
For Example: The goats grazed on the rocky, barren hill behind the farm. / Wind blew across the top of the barren hill with nothing to block it.
Other Ways to Say: An empty mound / A bare slope
41. A vacant parking space
Meaning: A paved slot in a lot that has no cars parked inside its lines.
For Example: We were lucky to find a vacant parking space near the store entrance. / The crowded lot finally had one vacant parking space open up.
Other Ways to Say: An empty car slot / A bare spot
42. A hollow bamboo stalk
Meaning: A tropical grass stem that has an empty channel running through its center.
For Example: He used a hollow bamboo stalk to build a homemade water pipe. / The wind blew across the hollow bamboo stalks, making a whistling sound.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant cane / An empty reed
43. A quiet bus stop
Meaning: A sidewalk shelter that has no passengers waiting for public transit.
For Example: Late in the evening, the shelter was a quiet bus stop. / Nobody stood under the roof at the quiet bus stop.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant transit post / An empty stop
44. A stripped wire
Meaning: An electrical cord that has had its outer plastic coating peeled off.
For Example: The electrician repaired the lamp using a stripped wire. / Be careful not to touch the exposed metal on a stripped wire.
Other Ways to Say: A bare cable / An empty cord
45. A quiet playground
Meaning: A schoolyard area with swings and slides that has no children playing.
For Example: During night time hours, the schoolyard is a quiet playground. / The rain drove everyone inside, leaving a quiet playground behind.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant recess yard / An empty park
46. A drained cup
Meaning: A drinking mug that has no milk, juice, or water left inside.
For Example: After finishing his cocoa, he set down a drained cup. / The thirsty hiker held up his drained cup for a refill.
Other Ways to Say: An empty mug / A finished glass
47. A vacant birdhouse
Meaning: A small wooden box on a tree that has no birds nesting inside it.
For Example: During winter months, the wooden box on the oak was a vacant birdhouse. / We cleaned out the twigs from the vacant birdhouse in spring.
Other Ways to Say: An empty nest box / A bare bird shelter
48. A quiet library aisle
Meaning: A bookshelf row in a reading room that has no patrons browsing books.
For Example: I found a peaceful corner down a quiet library aisle. / Late on a Tuesday, the reference section was a quiet library aisle.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant book row / An empty corridor
49. A bare mattress
Meaning: A bed spring covered in fabric with no sheets, blankets, or pillows on top.
For Example: When changing the bed linens, the bed was just a bare mattress. / The moving truck carried a bare mattress without any covers.
Other Ways to Say: An unmade bed / An empty cot
50. A quiet waiting room
Meaning: A doctor office lobby that has zero patients sitting in the chairs.
For Example: We arrived early, so the clinic lobby was a quiet waiting room. / The dentist office was empty except for a quiet waiting room.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant lobby / An empty parlor
51. A stripped ear of corn
Meaning: A corncob that has had every single yellow kernel bitten off by a diner.
For Example: After finishing lunch, he left behind a stripped ear of corn. / The picnic table had a pile of stripped ears of corn from the barbecue.
Other Ways to Say: A bare cob / An empty corncob
52. A vacant train carriage
Meaning: A railway passenger car that has no travelers sitting on the benches.
For Example: We walked through the sliding doors into a vacant train carriage. / Late at night, the subway car was a vacant train carriage.
Other Ways to Say: An empty rail car / A bare coach
53. A quiet camp fire ring
Meaning: A circle of stones in the woods that has no flames or embers burning.
For Example: Morning hikers walked past a quiet campfire ring in the woods. / After putting out the flames, only a quiet campfire ring remained.
Other Ways to Say: A cold ash pit / An empty fire spot
54. A bare branch
Meaning: A tree limb that has dropped all its blossoms, leaves, and fruit.
For Example: A single red cardinal perched on a bare branch outside my window. / Autumn winds shook the last leaf off the bare branch.
Other Ways to Say: A leafless limb / An empty twig
55. A quiet dance floor
Meaning: A wooden room floor that has no people spinning or stepping to music.
For Example: Before the party music started, the room featured a quiet dance floor. / Early in the evening, the ballroom was a quiet dance floor.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant hall / An empty stage
56. A drained fountain
Meaning: A stone water monument in a park that has no liquid flowing through it.
For Example: During the winter months, the town square had a drained fountain. / Workers turned off the spouts, leaving a drained fountain for repairs.
Other Ways to Say: An empty water feature / A dry basin
57. A vacant pitcher
Meaning: A glass container for juice or water that has been completely poured out.
For Example: When the lemonade ran out, we brought back a vacant pitcher. / Mother refilled the vacant pitcher with fresh ice water.
Other Ways to Say: An empty jug / A bare container
58. A quiet movie theater
Meaning: An auditorium with lights out and seats empty of any ticket holders.
For Example: Monday mornings find the local cinema as a quiet movie theater. / Walking in before showtime, we found a quiet movie theater.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant auditorium / An empty cinema
59. A bare flagpole
Meaning: A tall metal pole that has no flag flying or hoisted at the top.
For Example: Overnight, workers took down the banner, leaving a bare flagpole. / The school yard featured a tall, bare flagpole in the breeze.
Other Ways to Say: A flagless mast / An empty post
60. A quiet beehive
Meaning: A wooden box where honeybees live that has no buzzing insects inside.
For Example: In the middle of winter, the apiary had a quiet beehive. / Beekeepers inspected the empty boxes of a quiet beehive.
Other Ways to Say: A vacant insect box / An empty comb house
Exercise to Practice
- After eating all the nuts, the peanut shell was left as a ________ shell.
- During the hot summer drought, the farm’s old water hole became a ________ well.
- When the test started, my mind was temporarily a ________ page.
- After school ended for the summer, the playground became a quiet ________ town.
- When the oldest kids went off to college, the house became an ________ nest.
- In the middle of January, the oak in our yard was just a ________ tree.
- After everyone went to bed, the dark house felt like a ________ tomb.
- Throwing toys into the messy toy chest felt like dropping them into a ________ pit.
- Before grocery shopping day, mother opened the door to a ________ cupboard.
- On a sunny afternoon, the blue overhead looked like a ________ sky.
- Every morning is like a ________ canvas waiting for you to create a good day.
- After playing video games all night, his tablet had a ________ battery.
- We found a family of friendly chipmunks living inside a ________ log.
- Robinson Crusoe lived alone on a ________ island for many years.
- When we moved into the new house, every room had a ________ wall.
Answer Key
- hollow
- dry
- blank
- ghost
- empty
- bare
- silent
- bottomless
- bare
- clear
- blank
- drained
- hollow
- deserted
- bare
Conclusion
Learning these metaphors helps you understand the concept of being empty in a fun, creative way. They give you colorful words to describe things that are vacant, hollow, or lacking content in everyday life.
Try using some of these expressions when talking about stories or describing scenes with friends and family. You will see how much more engaging your conversations become when you use word pictures to share your thoughts.
