vacancy

American  

[vey-kuhn-see] / ˈveɪ kən si /

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.

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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

• nonvacancy noun

Etymology

Origin of vacancy

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

Example Sentences

Shula, a candidate for several NFL head coach vacancies, said he would participate in interviews Friday after the Rams have completed installing their game plan for the Bears.

From Los Angeles Times

There has been a wave of immigration from Asia—the Philippines in particular—to fill vacancies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Despite its rebound, San Francisco still has one of the largest office vacancy rates in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal

Solskjaer, who has played and managed United, also held talks with the hierarchy over the vacancy.

From BBC

With Baltimore now searching for a coach, there are a total of seven vacancies across the NFL, and Harbaugh figures to be a top candidate at many of them.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void