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 of vacancy

• 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

One subject is elated to receive a Section 8 housing voucher, only to encounter apartment-building managers who won’t accept it, or claim to have no vacancies. —The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025

The New York Giants fired Brian Daboll after a 2-8 start to his fourth season as the organization's head coach, opening an attractive coaching vacancy for prospective candidates. —Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Real estate broker Knight Frank projects the city’s vacancy rate for the highest quality office space will hit zero by 2028 as big name tenants BlackRock, Jane Street, Amazon Web Services and Bank of America hunt for hundreds of thousands of new square feet. —Diane Brady, Fortune, 3 Dec. 2025

The appeal of the job vacancy in Manhattan today, in 2025, mirrors the success of the man who held it for the last seven years — during the most turbulent time the sport has experienced. —Sam McDowell 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Dec. 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