vacancy

[ vey-kuhn-see ]

noun

, plural va·can·cies.

1. the state of being vacant; emptiness.
2. a vacant, empty, or unoccupied place, as untenanted lodgings or offices:

   This building still has no vacancies.

3. a gap; opening; breach.
4. an unoccupied position or office:

   a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

5. lack of thought or intelligence; vacuity:

   a look of utter vacancy.

6. Crystallography. (in a crystal) an imperfection resulting from an unoccupied lattice position. Compare interstitial ( def 3 ).
7. Archaic. absence of activity; idleness.

vacancy

/ ˈveɪkənsɪ /

noun

1. the state or condition of being vacant or unoccupied; emptiness
2. an unoccupied post or office

   we have a vacancy in the accounts department

3. an unoccupied room in a boarding house, hotel, etc

   put the "No Vacancies" sign in the window

4. lack of thought or intelligent awareness; inanity

   an expression of vacancy on one's face

5. physics a defect in a crystalline solid caused by the absence of an atom, ion, or molecule from its position in the crystal lattice
6. obsolete.
   idleness or a period spent in idleness

Other Words From

• non·vacan·cy noun plural nonvacancies

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacancy¹

From the Medieval Latin word vacantia, dating back to 1570–80. See vacant, -ancy

Example Sentences

At the time of the Nov. 5 election, there were 47 vacancies on the federal bench, with 17 nominees awaiting confirmation.

From Salon

Washington, Connecticut and Dallas are still working to fill coaching vacancies.

From Los Angeles Times

Experts say the trend is driven by a rising number of vacancies, which have forced some landlords to accept less in rent.

From Los Angeles Times

The transport secretary said the government had already taken steps to improve pay and tackle vacancies in the sector, as well as giving councils an extra £600m in funding for adult and children's social care.

From BBC

The court ruled the Senate was not truly in recess when he made the appointments and that the vacancies did not occur when the Senate was on a break, according to US media reports.

From BBC

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void