vacancy

American  

[vey-kuhn-see] / ˈveɪ kən si /

noun

• vacancies
  plural

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.

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vacancy British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvacancy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vacancies
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vacancy vacancies

"There is no vacancy at the moment," she replies.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

In addition to ruling out tax rises, he said the government should "pause job-destroying red tape" adding: "Whatever its intentions it is causing a real chill in the vacancy market."

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Buettell, the deputy chief executive, told The Times that the county does not have the power to terminate Curtis’ employment because he was appointed to fill a vacancy in an elected position.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

In the last few years, city and state leaders have launched a $3 billion plan to eliminate vacancy, offering subsidies for nonprofit developers and home buyers and repair grants for homeowners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

There was a vacancy in her eyes that chilled Mark to the bone.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

Hotel prices fell only 7% in the first half of the year from the same period of 2025 despite the high vacancies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

This week's numbers have not been officially released due to Monday's bank holiday but prison sources say vacancies have fallen once again.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Two months later, after reportedly interviewing for several coaching vacancies, Kelly took the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Increasing their salaries would help fill the 1,600 vacancies the city currently has for the role and lower education costs in the long run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

The vacancies have been filled and the sacks of straw in the huts are already booked.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void