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

• emptiness
• 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

Kasperowicz emphasized those are lower now than under the Biden administration, when vacancy rates were 19% and 20% for doctors and nurses, respectively. —Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Miran has been nominated for a vacancy created by the early retirement of Fed board member Adrianna Kugler. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2025

But Grassley has firmly resisted calls to abandon blue slips, noting that Republicans used the same mechanism to block former President Joe Biden’s nominees, in some cases preserving vacancies that Trump is now attempting to fill. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025

New construction typically commands higher rents, leading to higher vacancy rates than in older buildings. —Patricia Sharkey, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 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