This is the 14542nd most frequent German word.
leeren
"Leeren" means "to empty" in English.
Here, 'leere' is an adjective derived from 'leeren', describing the state of the room as being empty.
Der leere Raum schien unheimlich.
The empty room seemed eerie.
In this sentence, 'leeren' is used as a verb meaning 'to empty', referring to the action of making the trash bin empty.
Ich muss den Papierkorb leeren.
I have to empty the trash bin.
In this example, 'leerten' is used in its reflexive form, indicating that the shelves became empty as a result of others taking their contents.