vacant
Americanadjective
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having no contents; empty; void.
a vacant niche.
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having no occupant; unoccupied.
no vacant seats on this train.
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not in use.
a vacant room.
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devoid of thought or reflection.
a vacant mind.
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characterized by, showing, or proceeding from lack of thought or intelligence.
a vacant answer; a vacant expression on a face.
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not occupied by an incumbent, official, or the like, as a benefice or office.
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free from work, business, activity, etc..
vacant hours.
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characterized by or proceeding from absence of occupation.
a vacant life.
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devoid or destitute (often followed byof ).
He was vacant of human sympathy.
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Law.
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having no tenant and devoid of furniture, fixtures, etc. (unoccupied ).
a vacant house.
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idle or unutilized; open to any claimant, as land.
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without an incumbent; having no heir or claimant; abandoned.
a vacant estate.
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adjective
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without any contents; empty
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devoid (of something specified)
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having no incumbent; unoccupied
a vacant post
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having no tenant or occupant
a vacant house
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characterized by or resulting from lack of thought or intelligent awareness
a vacant stare
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(of time, etc) not allocated to any activity
a vacant hour in one's day
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spent in idleness or inactivity
a vacant life
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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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
In September, her agency issued a “call to action” to public officials, saying 100 storefronts and one-third of commercial space is vacant, “a higher vacancy rate than Detroit.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026
The artist’s summer stays on the Northern French coastline began in 1885 in Grandcamp, a humble fishing village distinguished only by its vacant beachfront and dramatic cliffs rising to the east.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
With these offices vacant, the task fell upon district courts to name interim U.S. attorneys, which they did with admirable professionalism.
From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026
Here was this vacant space that demanded to be remembered.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.