vacant

American  

[vey-kuhnt] / ˈveɪ kənt /

adjective

1. having no contents; empty; void.

   a vacant niche.

2. having no occupant; unoccupied.

   no vacant seats on this train.

3. not in use.

   a vacant room.

4. devoid of thought or reflection.

   a vacant mind.

5. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from lack of thought or intelligence.

   a vacant answer; a vacant expression on a face.

   Synonyms:

   inane, vacuous, blank

6. not occupied by an incumbent, official, or the like, as a benefice or office.

7. free from work, business, activity, etc..

   vacant hours.

8. characterized by or proceeding from absence of occupation.

   a vacant life.

9. devoid or destitute (often followed byof ).

   He was vacant of human sympathy.

10. Law.

    1. having no tenant and devoid of furniture, fixtures, etc. (unoccupied ).

       a vacant house.

    2. idle or unutilized; open to any claimant, as land.

    3. without an incumbent; having no heir or claimant; abandoned.

       a vacant estate.

---

vacant British  

/ ˈveɪkənt /

adjective

1. without any contents; empty

2. devoid (of something specified)

3. having no incumbent; unoccupied

   a vacant post

4. having no tenant or occupant

   a vacant house

5. characterized by or resulting from lack of thought or intelligent awareness

   a vacant stare

6. (of time, etc) not allocated to any activity

   a vacant hour in one's day

7. spent in idleness or inactivity

   a vacant life

8. law (of an estate, etc) having no heir or claimant

---

Related Words

See empty.

Other Word Forms

• nonvacant adjective
• nonvacantly adverb
• unvacant adjective
• unvacantly adverb
• vacantly adverb
• vacantness noun

Etymology

Origin of vacant

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, Old French, from Latin vacant- (stem of vacāns, present participle of vacāre “to be empty”); -ant

Explanation

You can use the adjective vacant to describe something that is empty — an apartment with no tenant or furniture, a job with no worker, or a person with no brainpower. Vacant has its roots in the Latin word meaning “empty” or “free.” It can mean “unoccupied,” such as that seat next to you on the train — even if you’ve put your coat there. A vacant look or stare, however, is one that shows no intelligence or the slightest spark of interest. One might find this vacant gaze in the eyes of a zombie or in the eyes of a teen who has spent the past five hours gaming.

Example Sentences

But you are still vulnerable to having a vacant property in 10 years and to price fluctuations in commercial real estate.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

A third special election in a northern Montreal suburb, also vacant, was too close to call.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

The financing terms helped the development grow rapidly, albeit inconsistently, with neat modular homes, trailers and abandoned or vacant lots across more than 33,000 acres.

From Salon • Apr. 12, 2026

Earlier, Cameron became a two-weight world champion with a unanimous decision win over Michaela Kotaskova to claim the vacant WBO light-middleweight world title.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Ranofer threw an impatient glance at Ibni and encountered the sharp glint he had often surprised in the other’s usually vacant eyes.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Related Words

• bare
• deserted
• idle
• unemployed
• unfilled
• uninhabited
• unused