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

Barclay, Microsoft’s U.K. CEO, says the company has more vacancies advertised on LinkedIn than before the pandemic and, more importantly, before the AI boom. —Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 19 June 2024

The office had vacancies in more than half of its CON positions during the height of the pandemic and immediately after but has since filled many of the jobs and added new positions. —Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024

The school, which serves students in grades 6 through 12 in west Louisville, currently has 31 teacher vacancies, according to the district's website. —Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 14 June 2024

Sharply rising vacancy rates and softening rents now plague numerous office markets in the Bay Area as companies curb their appetites for workplace spaces. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024

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