vacancy

Etymology

From vac(ant) + -ancy.

noun

1. 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. An available room in a hotel; guest house, etc.
3. Empty space.
   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. A blank mind, unoccupied with thought.
5. Lack of intelligence or understanding.
6. (physics) A defect in a crystal caused by the absence of an atom in a lattice