- 1 the top inside surface of a room She lay on her back staring up at the ceiling. a large room with a high ceiling The walls and ceiling were painted white. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivehigh, low, tall, … verb + ceilingpaint, plaster, reach, … ceiling + verbcollapse ceiling + nounfan, light, tile, … prepositionon the ceiling phrasesfrom ceiling to floor, from floor to ceiling See full entry
- 2the highest limit or amount of something price ceilings compare floor Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedebt, expenditure, price, … verb + ceilingimpose, place, put, … prepositionceiling on See full entry
- 3(specialist) the greatest height at which a particular aircraft is able to fly an aircraft with a ceiling of 20 000 feet see also glass ceiling Word OriginMiddle English (denoting the action of lining the interior of a room with plaster or panelling): from ceil (perhaps related to Latin celare, French céler ‘conceal’) + -ing. Sense (1) dates from the mid 16th cent.Extra examples The bathroom has mirrors from ceiling to floor. The government has decided to lift price ceilings on bread and milk. The palace is famous for its 17th-century painted ceilings. They have put a ceiling on the price of petrol. They’ve put a $50 ceiling on their admission charge. a ceiling on imports a fly on the ceilingIdioms
(informal) to suddenly become very angry See related entries: Anger
Check pronunciation: ceiling
