See Also: vacant(dictionary)
vacant(dictionary)
vacant possession(dictionary)
VACANT SUCCESSION(law)
VACANT POSSESSION, estates(law)

vacant (iou)



vacant adjective & noun. ME.
[Old & mod. French from Latin vacant- pres. ppl stem of vacare: see VACATE, -ANT1. Reintroduced in 16 directly from Latin.]
A. adjective.
Of a benefice, office, position, etc.: not (yet) filled or occupied. ME.
situations vacant: see SITUATION.
H. J. Laski An unconstitutional Parliament thereupon declared the throne vacant.
b. Of goods: having no owner. rare. M16-M18.
a. Containing no objects; empty. LME.
b. (Of land, a house, etc.) uninhabited, untenanted; (of a place, space, room, etc.) not occupied or in use. E16.
vacant possession the right of a purchaser to exclusive use of a property or premises on completion of the sale.
F. M. Ford The head waiter piloted him..to a vacant table. W. S. Churchill To grant a charter for settling vacant lands. M. Spark Placed in rooms..while waiting for an Embassy flat to fall vacant.
c. Characterized by the absence of life, activity, etc. L18.
W. Cowper Amid the stillness of the vacant night.
Devoid or destitute of, entirely free from or lacking, something. Foll. by of. LME.
S. Patrick Select friends, vacant of business,..met together at one table.
b. Empty-handed; destitute. rare. LME-L16.
a. Of time: free of or from business, an occupation, etc.; devoted to leisure. Now rare or obsolete. M16.
b. Of a person: free of or from (normal) work or duties; having little or nothing to do. E17-L18.
c. Characterized by or proceeding from leisure or idleness; undisturbed by business or work. E17.
R. W. Chambers An idle and vacant life..is not..a happy one.
d. Free to devote oneself to an aim etc. Also, (of a thing) open to an influence etc. Now rare or obsolete. M17.
S. Johnson When the heart is vacant to every fresh..delight.
Of the mind or brain: not occupied in thought or reflection. L16.
b. Free from care or anxiety. rare. M17-E18.
Characterized by or exhibiting a lack of attention, intelligence, or thought; empty-headed, unthinking; expressionless, meaningless; inane. E18.
V. Woolf Rhoda's face, mooning, vacant.
B. noun. rare.
A vacant estate. Scot. Only in L15.
A person who is temporarily unemployed or out of office. Only in E17.
In pl. A vacation. Only in M17.
A vacant space, a vacuum. poet. Only in E18.
vacantly adverb E17.