Svuotare

Svuotare is an Italian verb that means to make something empty. It is used for physical actions such as emptying a container, a bottle, or a room, and can also be applied in a figurative sense to mean clearing out or draining resources, spaces, or lists.

As a regular -are verb, it follows the standard conjugation pattern: io svuoto, tu svuoti, lui/lei svuota; noi svuotiamo, voi svuotete, loro svuotano. The past participle is svuotato, used with avere in compound tenses (ho svuotato la cucina; abbiamo svuotato il contenitore). The gerund is svuotando, as in stavo svuotando la scatola.

Etymology derives from vuoto, meaning empty, with the s- prefix indicating removal or thoroughness. The form is attested in Italian from medieval times and is closely related to other Romance verbs built with s- to convey complete action.

Common usages include svuotare un contenitore, svuotare una bottiglia, svuotare una stanza, and, in senso figurato, svuotare le tasche or svuotare la cantina. An idiomatic expression is svuotare il sacco, meaning to spill the beans or to reveal everything. Reflexive forms like svuotarsi can denote becoming emotionally or physically emptied (la stanchezza mi svuota) or, in some contexts, performing the action on oneself.

Overall, svuotare is a versatile verb in everyday Italian, appropriate for both concrete tasks—removing contents from objects—and more abstract notions of emptiness or disclosure.