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

Voters happy with city’s direction, second incumbent says Elsewhere in Boise, voters went to the polls to decide whether District 2 incumbent Colin Nash, who was first elected in 2023 after he was appointed to fill a vacancy, should keep his seat against two challengers. —Idaho Statesman, 5 Nov. 2025

While warehouses may have won investors’ attention in the last five years, given the growth of e-commerce, IOS has delivered twice the rent growth and has roughly half the vacancy rate of the bulk warehouse sector, according to a report from Newmark. —Diana Olick, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2025

With Saban’s name out of the mix, Tigers supporters and the rest of the college football world will continue to wait to see what LSU does with its vacancy — just like other programs across the country. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025

Under a state law passed earlier this year, vacancies on the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners are now filled by the executive committee of the departing commissioner’s political party — rather than by a vote of the remaining commissioners. —Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 5 Nov. 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