ceiling
/ˈsiːlɪŋ
/noun
1The upper interior surface of a room or other similar compartment: the books were stacked from floor to ceiling...
- Hard landscape materials are the walls, floors and ceilings of our outdoor rooms.
- The traditional Scottish tower house has flagstone floors and a vaulted ceiling in the dining room.
- The airy rooms had high ceilings; windows and doors opened onto shady verandahs.
Synonyms
roof, vault, vaulting;
French plafond
2An upper limit set on prices, wages, or expenditure: the government imposed a wage ceiling of 3 per cent...
- But many analysts agree that the new price ceilings won't limit the ability of most power companies to make a profit in the region.
- There is no natural ceiling to limit the price of market water.
- Also, strict wage ceilings were maintained on public enterprises.
Synonyms
upper limit, maximum, limitation, highest permissible level/value
3The maximum altitude that a particular aircraft can reach: the aircraft’s quoted ceiling of 24,000 feet...
- The new aircraft will also allow pilots to increase their flying hours from 150 to 200 because of the aircraft's higher operating ceiling.
- The maximum cruise speed of the aircraft is 500 km per hour and the altitude ceiling 9,500 m.
- A number of miles passed under the nose as the aircraft brushed the bottom of the weather ceiling.
3.1The altitude of the base of a cloud layer.The cloud ceiling was about 9,000 feet, with a temperature of 62 degrees....
- Observations were not made in rain, snow, or fog, or when the cloud ceiling was less than 100 m AGL.
- Unfortunately the dragons can't climb above the cloud ceiling so the five travelers are stuck in the horrid weather.
4 Nautical The inside planking of a ship’s bottom and sides.Suddenly a thud knocked the shuttle ninety degrees as the crew inside were bashed against the ceiling of the small craft.
Derivatives
ceilinged
[in combination]: high-ceilinged rooms
Origin
Middle English (denoting the action of lining the interior of a room with plaster or panelling): from ceil + -ing1. sense 1 dates from the mid 16th century.
The reason ceiling has the -ing ending usually associated with action is that it was originally an action, from to ceil meaning ‘line (the interior of a room) with plaster or ling’, perhaps from Latin celare, ‘conceal’. The sense describing the upper interior surface of a room, dates from the mid 16th century.