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

The government saying it isn’t looking to fill the vacancy will do little to dispel that instinct from those who thought it all along.

From BBC

Her critics blasted her for firing the police chief soon after she took office, leaving a leadership vacancy in the department for a year even as the city experienced a surge in violence.

From Los Angeles Times

But the prop had long since slipped coach Steve Borthwick a stage direction to fill the vacancy he left behind.

From BBC

In New York City, for example, while the vacancy rate of on-market units is hovering at 1.4% — the lowest since 1968 — no one knows just how many units that should be open are not included in official figures.

From Salon

It was before the last season had even ended, before the Lakers had a vacancy, before his work as a broadcaster had finished.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void