Dictionary

vacancy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈveɪkənsi/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• (US) audio
• /ˈvæɪkənsi/ (Australia, New-Zealand)

Etymology

From Late Latin vacantia. Doublet of vacance.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An unoccupied position or job.
   • Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress. 1965, Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
2. (countable, uncountable) An available room in a hotel; guest house, etc.
3. (countable, uncountable) Empty space.
   • The following account of Cavendish is from one of our most accomplished chemists, who communicated it orally to Mr. Tomlinson, from whom I received it. “When I was a very young man—a new Fellow of the Royal Society—I always looked upon it as a great honour to be noticed by Cavendish, and so did the other young members of the society. We used to dine at the Crown and Anchor, and Cavendish often dined with us. He came slouching in, one hand behind his back, and taking off his hat (which by the bye he always hung up on one particular peg), he sat down without taking notice of anybody. If you attempted to draw him into conversation he always fought shy. Dr. Wollaston’s directions I found to succeed best. He said, ‘the way to talk to Cavendish is never to look at him, but to talk as it were into vacancy, and then it is not unlikely but you may set him going!’” 1851, George Wilson, The Life of the Hon. Henry Cavendish, page 169:
   • Sky was set above earth, land ringed with sea, / Chaos retired to its own vacancy …. 1993, James Michie, trans. Ovid, The Art of Love, Book II
4. (countable, uncountable) A blank mind, unoccupied with thought.
   • ...—who has not looked back to the past with that passion of hopelessness, which deems that life can never more be what it has been,—with a consciousness that the dearer emotions are exhausted, while in their place have arisen but vacancy and weariness? 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 2:
5. (countable, uncountable) Lack of intelligence or understanding.
6. (countable, uncountable) A defect in a crystal caused by the absence of an atom in a lattice

Forms

Deriveds

divacancy · semivacancy · multivacancy · anion vacancy · monovacancy · trivacancy

Relateds

vacant · vacate

Synonyms

vacantness · vacuity · vacuum · vacuousness · vacuity · vacantness

Translations (56)

de freies Zimmer (available room) · nb ledig rom (available room) · oc espaci vuèg (empty space) · bg празнина (empty space) · bg ваканция (a defect in a crystal) · nrf vacanche (unoccupied position) · fi vapaa huone (available room) · cmn 空位 (available room) · ru вака́нсия (unoccupied position) · de Leerstelle (a defect in a crystal) · de freie Stelle (unoccupied position) · fi avoin virka (unoccupied position) · ka სიცარიელე (empty space) · de freier Platz (empty space) · es vacancia (empty space) · bg свобо́дна ста́я (available room) · be вака́нсія (unoccupied position) · cmn 空職 /空职 (unoccupied position) · it posto vacante (unoccupied position) · ka ვაკანსია (unoccupied position) · ar وَظِيفَة شَاغِرَة (unoccupied position) · fi vakanssi (unoccupied position) · cmn 空額 /空额 (unoccupied position) · pt vaga (unoccupied position) · de Vakanz (unoccupied position) · fi vapaa paikka (empty space) · fr chambre libre (available room) · nb ledig stilling (unoccupied position) · nl vacature (unoccupied position) · ar غُرْفَة شَاغِرَة (available room) · pl wakat (unoccupied position) · it posizione vacante (unoccupied position) · es vacancia (available room) · ru свобо́дное ме́сто (empty space) · uk вака́нсія (unoccupied position) · es vacancia (unoccupied position) · cmn 空缺 (unoccupied position) · ka ცარიელი სივრცე (empty space) · ar شَاغِر (unoccupied position) · oc espaci (empty space) · es vacatura (unoccupied position) · ar شَاغِر وَظِيفِيّ (unoccupied position) · zu isikhala (unoccupied position) · es casal (empty space) · ko 결원 (unoccupied position) · ru свобо́дный но́мер (available room) · pt vaga (available room) · sv ledig plats (available room) · es vacante (unoccupied position) · ar حَيِّز (empty space) · ja 空き部屋 (available room) · bg свобо́дно мя́сто (unoccupied position) · ko 빈방 (available room) · cs volné místo (unoccupied position) · ja 欠員 (unoccupied position) · ka თავისუფალი ნომერი (available room)