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

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

Locate the policy, confirm it is active, notify the insurer, update the named insured and check those vacancy rules, it adds.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

The purchase comes as the office vacancy rate in downtown Long Beach reaches an all-time high of 35%, according to data from the Downtown Long Beach Alliance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

He also dismissed allegations by the opposition that the nonagenarian leader's absence amounted to a vacancy at the helm of the state, saying Biya continues to work from Geneva.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Those who sought his views were advised to wander into his vicinity as if by accident and to "talk as it were into vacancy."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Office vacancies have been soaring across Southern California, reaching around 20% overall in the greater Los Angeles area in the second quarter this year, according to real estate firm Avison Young.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

"The probation service is overwhelmed, with high caseloads and lots of vacancies putting often inexperienced staff under huge pressure," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

For years, vacancies rendered the agency unable to perform major parts of its work, contributing to long delays in updating voting-system guidance.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

To approve any actions, the commission requires agreement from three of the four commissioners, but it could take months to fill the vacancies, USA Today reported.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

The charm of an object to occupy the many vacancies of Harriet’s mind was not to be talked away.

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

Related Words

• gap
• job
• vacuum
• void