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

Almost all of those were police and fire personnel, at a time of persistent vacancies in both departments. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026

New data released last month show the city has a staff vacancy rate of nearly 20%, with over 1,000 fewer staffers now than in the 2018-19 fiscal year, which preceded the pandemic. —Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2026

Any new Costco will only pirate customers from existing retail stores, adding to new vacancies. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 10 Apr. 2026

In parts of Central West Baltimore around the station, disinvestment is so deep that the area is in the conversation for being the most disinvested in the state — measured in vacancy, poverty and decades of public neglect. —Alfred Barry, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 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