diff --git a/wp-includes/class-wp-term-query.php b/wp-includes/class-wp-term-query.php
index 79ec315c4f..74386bc9ab 100644
--- a/wp-includes/class-wp-term-query.php
+++ b/wp-includes/class-wp-term-query.php
@@ -474,7 +474,10 @@ class WP_Term_Query {
 			$this->sql_clauses['where']['exclusions'] = preg_replace( '/^\s*AND\s*/', '', $exclusions );
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $args['name'] ) ) {
+		if (
+			( ! empty( $args['name'] ) ) ||
+			( is_string( $args['name'] ) && 0 !== strlen( $args['name'] ) )
+		) {
 			$names = (array) $args['name'];
 			foreach ( $names as &$_name ) {
 				// `sanitize_term_field()` returns slashed data.
@@ -484,7 +487,10 @@ class WP_Term_Query {
 			$this->sql_clauses['where']['name'] = "t.name IN ('" . implode( "', '", array_map( 'esc_sql', $names ) ) . "')";
 		}
 
-		if ( ! empty( $args['slug'] ) ) {
+		if (
+			( ! empty( $args['slug'] ) ) ||
+			( is_string( $args['slug'] ) && 0 !== strlen( $args['slug'] ) )
+		) {
 			if ( is_array( $args['slug'] ) ) {
 				$slug = array_map( 'sanitize_title', $args['slug'] );
 				$this->sql_clauses['where']['slug'] = "t.slug IN ('" . implode( "', '", $slug ) . "')";
diff --git a/wp-includes/taxonomy.php b/wp-includes/taxonomy.php
index a7c6a4d267..f8bc57d039 100644
--- a/wp-includes/taxonomy.php
+++ b/wp-includes/taxonomy.php
@@ -835,6 +835,15 @@ function get_term_by( $field, $value, $taxonomy = '', $output = OBJECT, $filter
 		return false;
 	}
 
+	// No need to perform a query for empty 'slug' or 'name'.
+	if ( 'slug' === $field || 'name' === $field ) {
+		$value = (string) $value;
+
+		if ( 0 === strlen( $value ) ) {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
 	if ( 'id' === $field || 'term_id' === $field ) {
 		$term = get_term( (int) $value, $taxonomy, $output, $filter );
 		if ( is_wp_error( $term ) || null === $term ) {
diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index 544d915035..b87ebec072 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  *
  * @global string $wp_version
  */
-$wp_version = '4.8-alpha-40292';
+$wp_version = '4.8-alpha-40293';
 
 /**
  * Holds the WordPress DB revision, increments when changes are made to the WordPress DB schema.