vacancy

noun

va·​can·​cy ˈvā-kən(t)-sē 

plural vacancies

1

: a vacant office, post, or tenancy

2

a

: a vacating of an office, post, or piece of property

b

: the time such office or property is vacant

3

: physical or mental inactivity or relaxation : idleness

4

: empty space : void

specifically : an unoccupied site for an atom or ion in a crystal

5

: the state of being vacant : vacuity

6

archaic : an interval of leisure

Synonyms

• black hole
• blank
• blankness
• emptiness
• vacuity
• void

Examples of vacancy in a Sentence

School administrators are trying to fill vacancies before the beginning of the school year.

There were no vacancies at the hotel.

Recent Examples on the Web

The city's vacancy rate is just 0.07%, SWI reported, which means demand keeps outpacing supply. —Johan Hajji, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Lopez said the department has reached some of the lowest vacancy rates in years as a result of Hagen’s hiring and recruitment efforts. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 16 June 2025

The Boston City Council passed a resolution calling for the Wu administration to establish a Blue Ribbon Commission to address downtown office vacancies that have one watchdog warning of a nearly $2 billion budget shortfall in five years. —Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025

Many of the projects were delivered at the same time, which resulted in very low vacancy rates, Rose said. —Ignacio Calderon, USA Today, 12 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

vac(ant) + -ancy, in part after Medieval Latin vacantia

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 6

Kids Definition

vacancy

noun

va·​can·​cy ˈvā-kən-sē 

plural vacancies

1

: something (as an office or hotel room) that is vacant

2

: empty space

3

: the state of being vacant