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

• 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

The Giants’ initial list of external candidates is believed to include most of the names that will be popular with other clubs that have managerial vacancies. —Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

The appointment ends a three-month mayoral vacancy that has been hampering efforts to repair the city's aging, leak-prone water system. —Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2025

Joseph D’Elia, president of the county transit union, said Miami-Dade boosted starting pay for bus drivers in an effort to fill vacancies in the transit system. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025

But the community of 80,000 people, about 40% of whom are Venezuelan, is experiencing greater vacancy rates than surrounding communities. —Nino Paoli, Fortune, 30 Sep. 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