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

Meanwhile, detects in crystals, like the nitrogen–vacancy (NV) center in diamond, or the T center in silicon (from carbon and hydrogen atoms), serve as physical hosts for these qubits, giving them electronic states that can interact with light. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Mar. 2026

Washington Avenue has its open-air fruit stands and ubiquitous health clinics; Lincoln Road Mall, once the Fifth Avenue of the South, has lost most of its high-quality stores and has a 25 per cent vacancy rate. —Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

Nearly a quarter of the 100-member General Assembly has been appointed to their seats through vacancy committees, according to legislative staff, though some have since won elections to the positions. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2026

The vacancy rate is consistent with surrounding villages. —Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026

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