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

It comes as San Francisco’s office market is showing signs of recovery after years of high vacancy rates and uncertainty.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Ruaridh: I'm astonished that nobody seems to be mentioning Stephen Robinson for the Rangers vacancy.

Read more on BBC

Skipper could now be considered a more attractive candidate for UCLA’s coaching vacancy than Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith, the Pasadena native who has appeared on many candidate lists.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But cheaper mortgages will also push up vacancy rates if more tenants find themselves in a position to buy a home.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Inflation-adjusted spending on machinery and equipment reached its lowest level since the 1980s in the second quarter, and job vacancies sit at a seven-year low.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• gap 
• job 
• vacuum 
• void