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

Apartment industry officials in Colorado have defended the use of algorithms as a means to manage vacancy rates and lower prices. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 29 Apr. 2025

The model includes hiring additional background investigators, expanding academy classes and increasing advertisements to match the need for filling vacancies. —Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 23 Apr. 2025

In an example of the thinning ranks, the town of East Hartford is spending $2.8 million so far this year for overtime for its firefighters to make up for a shortfall of 11 vacancies in the department. —Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2025

Multifamily Housing Initiatives In NEMA In New York City, where the rental vacancy rate is around 1.4%, council members approved an initiative to create 80,000 new units in addition to what would have been built over the next 15 years. —Matt Frazier, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 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