Ceiling Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

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Synonyms ceiling American [see-ling] / ˈsi lɪŋ /

noun

1. the overhead interior surface of a room.

2. the top limit imposed by law on the amount of money that can be charged or spent or the quantity of goods that can be produced or sold.

3. Aeronautics.

   1. the maximum altitude from which the earth can be seen on a particular day, usually equal to the distance between the earth and the base of the lowest cloud bank.

   2. Also called absolute ceiling. the maximum altitude at which a particular aircraft can operate under specified conditions.

4. Meteorology. the height above ground level of the lowest layer of clouds that cover more than half of the sky.

5. a lining applied for structural reasons to a framework, especially in the interior surfaces of a ship or boat.

6. Also called ceiling piece. Theater. the ceiling or top of an interior set, made of cloth, a flat, or two or more flats hinged together.

7. the act or work of a person who makes or finishes a ceiling.

8. vaulting, as in a medieval church.

idioms

1. hit the ceiling, to become enraged.

   When he saw the amount of the bill, he hit the ceiling.

ceiling British / ˈsiːlɪŋ /

noun

1. the inner upper surface of a room

2. 1. an upper limit, such as one set by regulation on prices or wages

   2. ( as modifier )

      ceiling prices

3. the upper altitude to which an aircraft can climb measured under specified conditions See also service ceiling absolute ceiling

4. meteorol the highest level in the atmosphere from which the earth's surface is visible at a particular time, usually the base of a cloud layer

5. a wooden or metal surface fixed to the interior frames of a vessel for rigidity

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 ceiling More Idioms

1. see glass ceiling; hit the ceiling.

Other Word Forms

• ceilinged adjective
• subceiling noun
• unceilinged adjective
• underceiling noun

Etymology

Origin of ceiling

1350–1400, ceiling for def. 7; Middle English; ceil, -ing 1

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.

Because the client isn’t worried about hitting the estate-tax exemption ceiling, he used an in-kind distribution, bringing the Apple stock back to his estate and put in $1 million of another asset.

From Barron's

Leah told of beds lifted, “entirely from the floor, almost to the ceiling.”

From Literature

They point to past experience of pay deals that break through the ceiling imposed by finance secretaries leading to rapid and sometimes painful revised budgets during the financial year.

From BBC

Boasting her cuisine center, Lorenze revealed that it has grey cabinets, a large island, state-of-the-art appliances, and patterned ceilings that flood into the kitchen’s backsplash.

From MarketWatch

Just on Monday, IonQ announced that it had been awarded a contract under the Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Defense Department, with a ceiling of $151 billion.

From Barron's

Related Words

• beam
• plaster
• roof

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.