Meaning & use
ceiling
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The inside top surface of a room.
Grammar: Countable: a ceiling, the ceilings. Often used with the definite article: the ceiling.
Patterns
- the ceiling
- a high/low ceiling
- on the ceiling
The ceiling in the old house was painted with stars.
A water stain on the ceiling showed where the roof had leaked.
She hung a paper lantern from the ceiling.
nouncountable
An upper limit set on an amount, price, or level.
Grammar: Countable; often used with on: a ceiling on something.
Patterns
- a ceiling on something
- set/impose a ceiling
- raise/lower the ceiling
The government put a ceiling on rent increases.
There is a ceiling on how much you can borrow.
The price ceiling kept the cost of bread low.
nouncountabletechnical
The greatest height at which an aircraft can fly.
Grammar: Countable; often used with service: service ceiling.
Patterns
- service ceiling
- reach a ceiling
The plane's service ceiling is 40,000 feet.
They flew near the ceiling of the aircraft's range.
nouncountablefigurative
An unofficial barrier that stops someone from advancing, especially in a job.
Grammar: Countable; often in the phrase glass ceiling.
Patterns
- glass ceiling
- break through the glass ceiling
Many women still hit a glass ceiling in management.
She broke through the glass ceiling to become CEO.
Word forms
| plural | ceilings |
|---|
Common combinations
- glass ceiling
- The glass ceiling prevents many qualified women from reaching top jobs.
- price ceiling
- A price ceiling on fuel was introduced to protect consumers.
- ceiling fan
- The ceiling fan kept the room cool in summer.
- hit a ceiling
- Sales hit a ceiling after five years of growth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- roof
- Roof is the outside top covering of a building, not the inside surface; use ceiling for the interior top.
- cap
- Cap is a limit, often official and fixed; ceiling suggests a highest point that can be reached.
- limit
- Limit is a general word for a point that cannot be passed; ceiling is more figurative and often economic.
Opposites
Word family
- ceilinged adjective
- Having a ceiling of a specified kind, as in high-ceilinged.
Commonly confused: ceiling or sealing?
ceiling vs sealing
Sealing means closing or fastening something; ceiling is the top of a room. They sound similar but have different meanings.
Practice
The company decided to put a ______ on executive salaries.
Choose one answer.
A ceiling is an upper limit, so it fits salaries. Floor is a lower limit; roof is the outside top of a building; wall is a side of a room.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ceiling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.