expression, noun
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
泥棒が入った後、家はもぬけの殻だった。
After the burglar broke in, the house was completely empty.
彼の部屋に行ったら、もぬけの殻で誰もいなかった。
When I went to his room, it was deserted and no one was there.
expression, noun
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).
彼はまるでもぬけの殻のように横たわっていた。
He lay there like an empty shell, as if his soul had left him.
expression, noun
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.
セミのもぬけの殻が木に残っていた。
The cicada's shed skin was left on the tree.