he was emptying
Past progressive he/she conjugation of empty.

empty

empty
An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g., grand, petit).
adjective
a. vide
Someone left an empty cereal box in the cupboard.Quelqu'un a laissé une boîte de céréales vide dans le placard.
a. vacant
We need two people to fill the empty seats on the advisory board.Il nous faut deux personnes pour pourvoir les sièges vacants du comité consultatif.
b. vide
All the customers left as the snow began to fall, and the restaurant was empty.Tous les clients sont partis quand la neige a commencé à tomber, et le restaurant s'est retrouvé vide.
c. libre
We're in luck! The hotel has an empty room.On a de la chance ! L'hôtel a une chambre libre.
a. vide
I feel empty since my husband left.Je me sens vide depuis que mon mari est parti.
b. vidé
A word or phrase that is commonly used in conversational speech (e.g., skinny, grandma).
(colloquial)
I cried all day. I feel completely empty.J’ai pleuré toute la journée. Je suis complètement vidé.
a. vain
The citizens were fed up with the politicians' empty promises.Les citoyens en avaient marre des vaines promesses des politiques.
a. en l'air
It's not an empty threat. If you don't clean your room, you won't be able to watch TV.Ce n'est pas une menace en l'air. Si tu ne ranges pas ta chambre, tu n'auras pas le droit de regarder la télé.
A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g., acheter).
transitive verb
a. vider
Please empty the dishwasher.Vide le lave-vaisselle, s'il te plaît.
b. décharger
We need to empty this moving van before we can take a break.Nous devons décharger ce camion de déménagement avant de pouvoir faire une pause.
An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g., éternuer.).
intransitive verb
a. se vider
The streets emptied as night fell.Les rues se sont vidées à la tombée de la nuit.
a. se jeter
The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.Le Mississippi se jette dans le golfe du Mexique.
A noun is a word that refers to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling, or idea (e.g., femme, chat, maison).
noun
a. la bouteille vide
(f) means that a noun is feminine. French nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la dame or la lune) or masculine (like l'homme or le soleil).
(F)
We put the empties in the bin under the kitchen sink.On met les bouteilles vides dans le bac sous l'évier de la cuisine.
Examples
Random Word
Roll the dice and learn a new word now!
Why use the FrenchDictionary.com dictionary?

THE BEST FRENCH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Get More than a Translation

Get examples and pronunciations for millions of French words, English words, French phrases, and English phrases.

WRITTEN BY EXPERTS

Translate with Confidence

Access millions of accurate translations written by a team of experienced English-to-French and French-to-English translators.

FRENCH AND ENGLISH EXAMPLE SENTENCES

Learn by Example

Browse thousands of French-English example sentences throughout our dictionary.

CONNECT TO THE FRENCH-SPEAKING WORLD

Express Yourself in French

Browse nuanced French-to-English and English-to-French translations and find the word you’re looking for.
Word of the Day
chipped