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

Other barriers to success were the ongoing struggle to fill teacher vacancies and a far higher rate of students being chronically absent post-pandemic, Pollio said. —Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 3 Oct. 2024

Despite these measures, job vacancy rates in the eurozone are at an all-time high of 3% in 2023, Europe produces 20 percent fewer STEM graduates per thousand than in the US, and faces a declining working age population. —Bryan Penprase, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024

But with so many cameras, and the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing struggle to fill officer vacancies, the vast majority of cameras go unwatched. —Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Sep. 2024

Jason Luther, founder of Luther Group, told members of the CDA in a meeting May 30 that vacancy rates for industrial space in the metro area are very low. —Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2024

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