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

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

“Yes, we did!” shouted Martha Escutia, the former California legislator who was passed over in 2012 when she applied to fill a vacancy on the Whittier City Council.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

But that also will mean no new vacancy on the Fed Board; Warsh will take Miran’s seat; Miran’s term officially ended in January.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

He also has discouraged the city from raising taxes and pushed for other ways to make money, including hitting owners of empty properties with a vacancy tax.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

If Powell departs the board, Trump could appoint either Miran or a new candidate to fill that vacancy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

But he had gotten into a fight against orders and there was a blankness in his eyes, vacancy and shame.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void