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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “vacancy”

“vacancy” is pronounced /ˈveɪkənsi/ (VAY-kuhn-see) in American English and /veɪkənsi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “vac”.
The sound

Say “vacancy” in 3 beats

Say it like this

vacancy

/ˈveɪkənsi/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /veɪkənsi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. vacveɪstress
  2. ankən
  3. cysi
IPA (American)
/ˈveɪkənsi/
IPA (British)
/veɪkənsi/
Respelling
VAY-kuhn-see
Syllables
3 — VAC-an-cy
Stress
Stress the first syllable: VAC-an-cy. “vac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈveɪkənsi/

British

/veɪkənsi/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “vacancy” means

  1. noun

    being unoccupied

  2. noun

    an empty area or space

    “the huge desert voids”

Say it in a sentence

“The vacancy was filled before the advert had even closed.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
vveɪlong akkəschwannssilong e

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“vacancy”, answered

How do you pronounce “vacancy”?

“vacancy” is pronounced /ˈveɪkənsi/ (VAY-kuhn-see) in American English and /veɪkənsi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “vac”. Build it as VAC-an-cy, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “vacancy” have?

3: vac · an · cy. The beat lands on the first, “vac”.

Is “vacancy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈveɪkənsi/ (VAY-kuhn-see); British English says /veɪkənsi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “vacancy” mean?

As a noun: being unoccupied For example: “The vacancy was filled before the advert had even closed.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “vacancy”?

Stress the first syllable: VAC-an-cy. “vac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “vacancy” and see every sound

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