How to Use empty-handed in a Sentence

empty-handed

adjective
  • Thus far, this search has turned up empty-handed.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 10 Apr. 2026
  • But there’s good news for fans who have come up empty-handed.
    — Emily Heil, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
  • The search turned up empty-handed, but that did not stop them.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025
  • She's come back empty-handed every time.
    — Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 6 Apr. 2026
  • Both women come back empty-handed, but not for lack of trying.
    — Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2023
  • Any good house guest knows not to ever arrive empty-handed.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2025
  • Some went to extreme lengths to ensure they wouldn’t be left empty-handed.
    — Kyle Glaser, Orange County Register, 16 May 2024
  • That doesn’t mean the Dodgers will emerge from the trade deadline empty-handed.
    — Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2023
  • But the researchers packed up four hours later, empty-handed.
    — Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2023
  • But the Blue Jays have left each of these sweepstakes empty-handed.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Jan. 2025
  • More than two-thirds go away empty-handed, according to one of cooks working there.
    — NBC News, 18 Jan. 2025
  • The royals didn't leave the party empty-handed.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
  • The inning, though, showed fight and a stubborn refusal to slink away empty-handed.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2024
  • Many others have returned empty-handed after crowds grabbed all the food.
    — Anas Baba, NPR, 6 July 2025
  • But for a third straight year, Buffalo went home empty-handed.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 3 Feb. 2025
  • The Oilers deserved some points — maybe as many as four — but came up empty-handed.
    — Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 15 Dec. 2024
  • The Royals came up empty-handed.
    — Kansas City Star, 19 May 2026
  • The Royals were left empty-handed.
    — Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Even those who arrive early often leave the food sites empty-handed as food quickly runs out.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 26 June 2025
  • With so many big names in contention, at least one is almost guaranteed to go home empty-handed.
    — Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 28 Jan. 2025
  • The Nets aren’t walking into this stretch empty-handed.
    — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • That fellow ended up walking out empty-handed, as did a man who ditched a full cart near the entrance.
    — Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Luckily for the rest of the golfers, not everyone goes home empty-handed.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
  • In a blink, the inning ended and the Giants were empty-handed.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 27 May 2026
  • Needing to get home to their two papillons, the couple leave empty-handed.
    — Cathy Alter, Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2023
  • But as for Koala’s cause of death, scientists are coming up empty-handed.
    — Olatunji Osho-Williams, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024
  • Killers went home empty-handed on Sunday night, one of the rare times that’s happened this season.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2024
  • Naturally, the first player to hit an ace on the 6th hole will not leave empty-handed.
    — Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 July 2025
  • Spurs ended that season empty-handed.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Pies make great gifts, especially for guests who don’t want to show up empty-handed to holiday meals.
    — Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'empty-handed.' 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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