vacancy

[vey-kuhn-see]

noun

plural

vacancies 

1. the state of being vacant; emptiness.

2. a vacant, empty, or unoccupied place, as untenanted lodgings or offices.

   This building still has no vacancies.

3. a gap; opening; breach.

4. an unoccupied position or office.

   a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

5. lack of thought or intelligence; vacuity.

   a look of utter vacancy.

6. Crystallography.,  (in a crystal) an imperfection resulting from an unoccupied lattice position.

7. Archaic.,  absence of activity; idleness.

vacancy

/ ˈveɪkənsɪ /

noun

1. the state or condition of being vacant or unoccupied; emptiness

2. an unoccupied post or office

   we have a vacancy in the accounts department

3. an unoccupied room in a boarding house, hotel, etc

   put the "No Vacancies" sign in the window

4. lack of thought or intelligent awareness; inanity

   an expression of vacancy on one's face

5. physics a defect in a crystalline solid caused by the absence of an atom, ion, or molecule from its position in the crystal lattice

6. obsolete,  idleness or a period spent in idleness

Other Word Forms

• nonvacancy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacancy¹

From the Medieval Latin word vacantia, dating back to 1570–80. See vacant, -ancy

Example Sentences

Rangers will now discuss the position with Gerrard over the coming the days as they look to fill the vacancy created by Sunday's sacking of Russell Martin.

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At a conference event on Monday, Jenrick said there was not a leadership vacancy and he did not expect there to be.

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But getting selected for one is tough, as thousands of applicants from all over the country compete for a single vacancy.

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The vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country, while rental rates are among the highest nationwide.

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The wider UK jobs market has also been affected as vacancies fell and the number of people on payrolls dropped.

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Related Words

• gap 
• job 
• vacuum 
• void