vacancy
Americannoun
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the state of being vacant; emptiness.
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a vacant, empty, or unoccupied place, as untenanted lodgings or offices.
This building still has no vacancies.
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a gap; opening; breach.
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an unoccupied position or office.
a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
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lack of thought or intelligence; vacuity.
a look of utter vacancy.
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Crystallography. (in a crystal) an imperfection resulting from an unoccupied lattice position.
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Archaic. absence of activity; idleness.
noun
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the state or condition of being vacant or unoccupied; emptiness
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an unoccupied post or office
we have a vacancy in the accounts department
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an unoccupied room in a boarding house, hotel, etc
put the "No Vacancies" sign in the window
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lack of thought or intelligent awareness; inanity
an expression of vacancy on one's face
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physics a defect in a crystalline solid caused by the absence of an atom, ion, or molecule from its position in the crystal lattice
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obsolete idleness or a period spent in idleness
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vacancy
From the Medieval Latin word vacantia, dating back to 1570–80. See vacant, -ancy
Explanation
Vacancy refers to something being unoccupied. If a hotel has vacancies, there are rooms available. Have you ever noticed a store that's boarded up and empty, with signs like "For sale" or "For rent"? That's an example of vacancy: the store has no one in it. An unrented apartment is a vacancy, as is a house with no one living in it. Hotels put up a sign saying "No vacancies" when they have every room filled. It could help you remember what vacancy means if you know that a vacant lot is an empty lot.
Vocabulary lists containing vacancy
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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The 25th Amendment (1967)
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vac
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That year he authored Proposition D, a commercial vacancy tax ordinance that applies to street-facing, ground-floor properties that sit vacant for more than 182 days a year.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The official line from NEC related to the prospect of causing a vacancy for the metro mayor.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
A leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if Labour MPs launch a challenge when there is no vacancy.
From BBC • May 12, 2026
He said the office holds one of the largest property datasets in the country, and the information can reveal patterns about land use, vacancy and redevelopment opportunities.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
He went to the front door and read the little vacancy notice pasted on the glass and saw that the flat was a rear one.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
