もぬけの殻
Meanings
completely empty; vacant; deserted
Describes a place (house, room, building) that is utterly empty, as if the inhabitants have vanished. Often used in the phrase もぬけの殻になる or もぬけの殻だ.
See also: もぬけ
After the burglar broke in, the house was completely empty.
When I went to his room, it was deserted and no one was there.
lifeless body; corpse
Figurative use: a body from which the soul has departed. Rare and literary; not a common modern word for corpse (死体, 遺体 are standard).
He lay there like an empty shell, as if his soul had left him.
shed skin; molted exoskeleton
Original literal meaning: the cast-off skin of a snake, insect, etc. Now largely replaced by 抜け殻 (ぬけがら) in everyday use. This phrase is mostly encountered in older texts or as an explanation of the idiom's origin.
The cicada's shed skin was left on the tree.