vacantva‧cant /ˈveɪkənt/ ●●○ adjective 
Only a few apartments were still vacant. There was only a vacant lot (=empty unused area of land in a city) where her house used to be.► see thesaurus at emptyRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that a seat or room is free rather than vacant:· Is this seat free?2 formal a job or position in an organization that is vacant is available for someone to start doingfall vacant British English (=become vacant) He was offered the position of headmaster when it fell vacant.situations vacant British English (=the part of a newspaper where jobs are advertised)3vacant expression/look/stare etc written an expression that shows that someone does not seem to be thinking about anything: He gazed at me with vacant eyes.—vacantly adverb: Cindy was staring vacantly into space.
WORD ORIGINvacant
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French, Latin, present participle of vacare ‘to be empty, be free’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Brunton went into the bar, but he couldn't spot a single vacant seat.
- Half of the apartments in the building are vacant.
- He applied for the job of Eliot's personal secretary, which had just fallen vacant.
- If you're looking for somewhere to rent, I think there's a vacant apartment in my building.
- Of the buildings the company owns, only 3% are vacant.
- Our company only has one or two vacant positions at the moment.
- The next guesthouse we tried had a couple of rooms vacant.
- The police had set up a temporary station in a vacant apartment across the street.
- There don't seem to be any vacant rooms in the whole of London!
- When the post became vacant it was offered to Wendy Brooks.
- Clinton has appointed three successors to the vacant posts.
- During the 1870s agricultural depression had led to land and even rural jobs lying vacant.
- He said there would be no enforced redundancies, but some vacant posts would remain unfilled.
- It was the elder Gough who founded the Marin Weightlifting Club and relocated it to the vacant machine shop in 1990.
- She stared back at him, more vacant and stupid than he had ever seen her.
- The flat above was reserved for some sort of company letting and was, at present, vacant.
- Then the station you left hires some one to fill your vacant slot.
THESAURUSwith no people
used about a place that has no one in it or no one using it: · There were no lights on and the house looked empty.· the empty streets
used about a seat, space, or room that is available to use because no one else is using it: · Is this seat free?· There are never any parking spaces free at this time of day.
used about a room or building that is available for people to pay to use: · a vacant apartment· The next guesthouse we tried had a couple of rooms vacant.
used about a place that is quiet because there is no one there, or because the people who used to be there have left: · a deserted village· It was three o'clock in the morning and the streets were deserted.
used about a place that has no people living in it, especially permanently: · an uninhabited island
especially written used about a house, room, or office that no one is living in or using at the moment: · unoccupied buildings· Burglaries frequently happen when people are on holiday and their house is unoccupied.
if something is available, you can buy it, get it, or use it: · Are there any tickets still available for Saturday?· There’s no room for more books – we’ve used up all the available space.
if a seat or room is free, it is not being used by anyone: · Excuse me, is this seat free?· The hotel never has any free rooms over the Christmas period.
if a house or room is vacant, it is available for someone to use or rent: · If you’re looking for somewhere to rent, I think there’s a vacant apartment in my building.· I’ll ask around and see if there’s a room vacant somewhere.· The sign on the toilet said ‘vacant’.
a spare room, key, tyre etc is one that you have in addition to the ones that you normally use, and is therefore available to be used: · We have a spare room you can stay in.· There’s a spare key in this drawer.· I got the spare tyre out of the back of the car.
an empty room, building etc has no one in it: · The house was empty for two months before it was sold.· They have three empty rooms now that the kids have moved out.
if something is on offer, it is available for people to choose from: · There is a huge network of cycle tracks on offer.· Other facilities on offer in this excellent hotel include a hairdressing salon, a coffee shop, and a children's play room.· the variety of delicious fruits on offer
[not before noun] if a seat or room is taken, it is not available for other people to use, because someone has already arranged to use it: · I’m sorry – that seat is taken.· I’m afraid all our rooms are taken at the moment.
Longman Language Activatoran empty area a small empty area which is available for you to sit down in, stand in, leave your car in, etc: · There's a space over there by the bar where we can sit down.· I couldn't find an empty space in the car park.
a small empty area of land in the middle of a forest or wood, especially where the trees have been cut down: · A small deer stood on the edge of the clearing.· In the clearing, there was a small cottage.
American an empty outdoor area in a town or city where nothing has been built yet and that is not being used for any particular purpose at the moment: · A bunch of kids were playing basketball in a vacant lot.· With real estate prices rising, vacant lots in the area are selling for as much as $75,000.
when a job is available not being done by anyone at the moment and therefore available: · Our company only has one or two vacant positions at the moment.· When the post became vacant it was offered to Wendy Brooks.fall vacant (=become vacant) British: · He applied for the job of Eliot's personal secretary, which had just fallen vacant.
an available job: · There are over 3 million people unemployed and only 400,000 vacancies.· I'm sorry, the firm has no vacancies at the moment.fill a vacancy: · Barnhart will fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission.
a job that is open , especially a job that needs a lot of skill, is still available because it has not yet been given to anyone else: · Is that job you told me about last week still open?open to: · The position is open to graduates in any subject.come open: · When the job finally came open, I was the first to apply.
an available job: · I was wondering if there were any job openings at your company.fill an opening: · We expect to fill most of the openings through internal promotion.
a job or position that is unfilled is available because an employer has not yet decided who should do it, or cannot find someone suitable for it: · About 13,000 of the unfilled positions are for software engineers.· It's hard to understand the unemployment figures when so many jobs go unfilled.
available for someone to have or use if something is available , you can get it, buy it, or use it: · There's no room for more books - we've used up all the available space.available to: · Grants are available to students who have high grades.available from: · The publication is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.available at/in: · Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations.have something available: · Do you have a room available for this weekend?readily/freely available (=very easy to get): · Drugs like heroin are readily available on the streets.make something available: · These statistics are never sold or made available to the public.
a room or seat that is free is not being used by anyone now, and no one has asked for it to be kept for them to use later: · Is this chair free?· The only free seats on the train were in a smoking compartment.have something free: · The hotel never has any rooms free over the Christmas period.
something that is spare is not being used now, but it can be used if someone needs it: · I need 50 cents for the parking meter - do you have any spare change?· We're using the spare bedroom as a storage space.· a spare tyre
something such as a room or seat that is empty has no one using it at the moment and is therefore available for someone else to use: · They have three empty rooms now that the kids have moved out.· I think there's an empty seat in the back row.· The house was empty for two months before it was sold.
a building, home, room, or office that is vacant is available because it is not owned or rented by anyone: · There don't seem to be any vacant rooms in the whole of London!· If you're looking for somewhere to rent, I think there's a vacant apartment in my building.· Of the buildings the company owns, only 3% are vacant.
something that is to be had or to be found is available to anyone who knows where to get it from: · When no work was to be had, he borrowed money from friends.· We looked all over, but there were no fast food restaurants to be found.· She knew of a place where designer clothes were to be had at bargain prices.
British informal if something is going , it is available for anyone who wants it: · Is there any more wine going?· There aren't many jobs going in this part of the country.
if something is at your disposal , someone has provided it for you to use whenever you want or in any way that you want: · We have ample money at our disposal to do this job right.· A limousine and driver were put at her disposal for the entire week.
informal if something that you like or enjoy is on tap , it is available to you all the time so that you can have it whenever you want it: · It's a great place for a rest: food, music, alcohol - everything's on tap.· Some three hundred free outdoor shows are on tap during the weekend festival.
building/room/seat a building, room, or seat that is empty has nothing or no-one in it: · My footsteps echoed across the empty room.· We were a little worried to find that half the seats in the theatre were empty.· Police say the shot was fired from an empty office building across the street.half empty (=used to say that a room, building etc has not got many people in it): · I was surprised that the train was half empty at that time of day.
a seat, space, or room that is free is not being used and is available for people to use: · Is this seat free?· There are never any parking spaces free at this time of day.· The meeting room won't be free until at least 3.30, I'm afraid.
a building, room, or seat that is vacant is not being used and is available for people to use: · The police had set up a temporary station in a vacant apartment across the street.· The next guesthouse we tried had a couple of rooms vacant.· Brunton went into the bar, but he couldn't spot a single vacant seat.
a room or building that is bare has very little furniture or other things in it: · The room was completely bare except for a bed against the wall.· We spent a long time walking through the bare rooms, remembering the games we used to play there.
especially written an unoccupied house, room, office etc is not being lived in or used: · Many of the old houses that back onto the railway are now unoccupied.· It's a scandal that there are so many unoccupied buildings in this city, and so many homeless people.
WORD SETSabsenteeism, nounarticled clerk, black economy, nounbloodletting, nounblue-collar, adjectivebook-keeper, nounboss, nounbusiness agent, career path, nouncareer structure, nounCFO, Chartered Financial Consultant, nounCIO, co-manager, nouncommercial agent, company car, nouncompany doctor, company officer, competence, nouncompliance officer, co-worker, nouncreative director, curriculum vitae, nounCV, noundeputy chairman, deskill, verbdismiss, verbdowngrade, verbdownsize, verbearn, verbearner, nounemploy, verbemployable, adjectiveemployee, nounemployer, nounemployment agency, nounengage, verbenrolled agent, escrow agent, executive chairman, filing clerk, fill-in, nounfull-time, adjectiveheadhunter, nounhealth and safety, nounhuman resources, nounjob application, job centre, nounjobless, adjectivelabour exchange, nounledger clerk, moonlight, verbnatural wastage, nounnepotism, nounnetworking, nounnine to five, adverbnumber-cruncher, nounoccupational, adjectiveoff, adverboff-duty, adjectiveoperative, nounoutwork, nounoverseer, nounoverstaffed, adjectivepenalty clause, nounpension fund, nounpension plan, nounpersonnel, nounpiecework, nounpositive discrimination, nounpost, nounpreferment, nounproject engineer, qualification, nounqualify, verbquit, verbrecommendation, nounrecruit, verbredeploy, verbredundancy, nounredundant, adjectivereferee, nounreference, nounreinstate, verbresearch manager, resign, verbresignation, nounresume, nounretired, adjectiveretiree, nounretirement, nounself-employed, adjectivesharecropper, nounshift, nounskilled, adjectivetechnical analyst, testimonial, nountime and motion study, nountrainee, nountransfer agent, underemployed, adjectiveundermanned, adjectiveunderstaffed, adjectiveunemployable, adjectiveunemployed, adjectiveunemployment, noununemployment benefit, noununskilled, adjectivevacancy, nounvacant, adjectivewhite-collar, adjectiveworkday, nounwork experience, nounworkforce, nounworking papers, nounworkweek, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY There was only a vacant lot (=empty unused area of land in a city) where her house used to be. the vacant lot (=empty land) behind the Commercial Hotel
There was only a vacant lot (=empty unused area of land in a city) where her house used to be. British English (=become vacant) He was offered the position of headmaster when it fell vacant.
He was offered the position of headmaster when it fell vacant. British English (=the part of a newspaper where jobs are advertised)
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (=one that shows no emotion, understanding, or interest)· The blank expression on Bobbie’s face gave way to anger.
British English (=unused)· The houses could be built on derelict land.
the vacant lot (=empty land) behind the Commercial Hotel· Patrick spotted an empty seat near the back.
(=seeming not to notice or be thinking anything)· She was gazing out of the window with a vacant stare.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· The maid's vacant expression was replaced momentarily by one of greedy expectation - shortly followed by disappointment.· He was a bright-eyed boy, thin and fair, with a vacant expression that often gave way to shrill laughter.· However, just behind the vacant expression he offered me, I detected fear.
· And there was a vacant house in the Lossie Estate, almost next door to where they lived.· Punta Banda's ghostly streets, vacant houses and shuttered hotel bear testimony to dreams gone sour.· The survey report points out that both of these estimates included vacant houses and are not comparable with the latest figure.
· Much more interesting are the larger complexes which occupy the vacant land immediately behind the main frontages.· The city is in the final stages of annexing a 28-mile swath of vacant land south of town.· Public- and private-sector users were both reluctant to put vacant land on the market.· In many cities, most vacant land was not owned by local government but by the private sector and statutory authorities.· Kenski points to Prop 105, a referendum which exempted vacant land owned by cemeteries from taxation.· Only six percent of the vacant land had been landscaped and maintained.
· Woke up to hear bulldozers Rumble through vacant lots, Saw houseplants we forgot to water Shrivelled in their pots.· We stood in the vacant lot, which was still a vacant lot, where the three tramps were found.· He'd even searched the vacant lots.· We stood in the vacant lot, which was still a vacant lot, where the three tramps were found.· Sanitation: A special task force shall be assigned to clean up all vacant lots and trashed areas throughout the deprived areas.· At 11 p. m., he said, a man telephoned his room, and together they drove to a vacant lot.· On our march we camped one night in a vacant lot adjoining a female seminary at Gordonsville.· Broughton said the codes would make it simpler to build on small hillside vacant lots in older developed neighborhoods.
· Virtually all empty dwellings were now sold with vacant possession, at extremely high prices.· Where properties are untenanted, Retirement Assured has valued them at open market value with vacant possession.· And of course for that, you do get vacant possession.· People who sell will want to sell with vacant possession, and that means asking people to leave.· Would you have to pay income tax on it, and could you get vacant possession when you needed it?· They think it unlikely that the company would sell the properties without vacant possession.
· He said there would be no enforced redundancies, but some vacant posts would remain unfilled.· Clinton has appointed three successors to the vacant posts.· As you will see from the Who's who page we have two vacant posts on the committee.· No replacement has yet been sought; or found for the vacant post of Chief Executive.· At the moment half a dozen vacant posts are filled a year.· They became close friends, and when Arnet died in 1728 Hooper applied for the vacant post.· Instead of filling the directly vacant post, staff can be moved round, and the resulting vacancy filled.
· Rate bills are the occupier's responsibility, or, in the case of vacant property, the person entitled to occupation.· No housing department had a policy on identifying vacant properties with adaptation potential.· According to Barber White, a firm of property researchers, there are about 11m square feet of vacant property in the City.
· His vacant seat on the panel was filled, naturally enough, by William Harrison.· She pointed to a vacant seat which was at the end of a row near the gangway.
· Discussion took place regarding the vacant site adjacent to the Railway Inn.
· Robert sat at a vacant space and put his head in his hands.· It has begun tracing lines, through totally vacant space, between recurrences.· And she was even more impressed as he recalled opening the shoebox, with its matching glass decorations and its vacant space.· And they began looking at how to make the most of the small vacant spaces.· Etta Moon, 67, stood before the vacant space that was once her home.
· Eyes downcast; baby lips pulled into a frown; dull, vacant stare.· Brittany, the blond cheerleader, has a vacant stare and huge eyelashes.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1a vacant seat, building, room, or piece of land is empty and available for someone to use: - Brittany, the blond cheerleader, has a vacant stare and huge eyelashes.
- But an oddly vacant look had come over Cinzia's features.
- Eyes downcast; baby lips pulled into a frown; dull, vacant stare.
- He was a bright-eyed boy, thin and fair, with a vacant expression that often gave way to shrill laughter.
- He was looking round with a vacant look on his face and I was frightened.
- However, just behind the vacant expression he offered me, I detected fear.
- The maid's vacant expression was replaced momentarily by one of greedy expectation - shortly followed by disappointment.
Only a few apartments were still vacant. There was only a vacant lot (=empty unused area of land in a city) where her house used to be.► see thesaurus at emptyRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that a seat or room is free rather than vacant:· Is this seat free?2 formal a job or position in an organization that is vacant is available for someone to start doingfall vacant British English (=become vacant) He was offered the position of headmaster when it fell vacant.situations vacant British English (=the part of a newspaper where jobs are advertised)3vacant expression/look/stare etc written an expression that shows that someone does not seem to be thinking about anything: He gazed at me with vacant eyes.—vacantly adverb: Cindy was staring vacantly into space.