vacancy

American  

[vey-kuhn-see] / ˈveɪ kən si /

noun

plural

vacancies

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.

7. Archaic. absence of activity; idleness.

---

vacancy British  

/ 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 Word Forms

• nonvacancy noun

Etymology

Origin of vacancy

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

Example Sentences

Team representatives wrote in the lobbying material that the Blazers’ future in Portland was at stake — and that a departure would threaten the city’s turnaround from pandemic-era headlines about downtown retail vacancies and crime.

From Salon

In September, her agency issued a “call to action” to public officials, saying 100 storefronts and one-third of commercial space is vacant, “a higher vacancy rate than Detroit.”

From Los Angeles Times

The Graham Georgetown has vacancies from $422 a night and will be hosting a rooftop fireworks watch party.

From The Wall Street Journal

The labor market has weakened as a result, with job vacancies down nearly 7% in January from 12 months ago—which may, in turn, keep inflation in check.

From The Wall Street Journal

OTTAWA—The Bank of Canada said Monday that two members of its rate-setting governing council are departing, and it intends to fill the vacancies internally.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void