ceiling

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1. Ceiling has been used by government departments and administrators since the 1930s to mean 'an upper limit' (as in a ceiling on prices), and is sometimes contrasted with floor, which is a lower limit. As with target, care needs to be taken not to couch it in contexts that are incongruous: a ceiling can be reached, for example, or raised or lowered or adjusted, or can be high or low or unrealistic, but it cannot (without absurd effect) be extended or exceeded or increased. It is also unwise to associate it with words that are also associated with it in its literal use, such as suspend.

2. A glass ceiling has been used since the 1980s, originally in American English and increasingly in British English, to symbolize a notional barrier to professional advancement, especially affecting women and members of minorities:

For most top amateurs there is a glass ceiling on the professional circuit, and it does not take them long to hit it—Economist, 1995.

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For more information on ceiling, visit Britannica.com.

1. maximum Deposit Interest Rate permitted on interest-bearing deposit accounts by Federal Reserve Regulation Q. The Regulation Q rate ceiling gradually was phased out in the 1980s, when deposit interest rates were decontrolled, allowing banks and savings institutions to compete openly for deposit dollars by paying depositors market rates for savings accounts and certificates of deposit. The legal interest rate ceiling, jointly administered by banking regulatory agencies, was originally intended to ensure that all financial institutions, no matter how large or small, had equitable access to consumer deposits. See also Depository Institutions Deregulation & Monetary Control Act; Market Rate of Interest.

2. Usury ceiling, the highest rate of interest permitted by state law on consumer installment loans and other extensions of credit.

3. In Foreign Exchange, the price level of a particular currency that triggers Intervention by central banks in the exchange markets.

noun

The greatest amount or number allowed: limit, limitation, maximum. See limited/unlimited.

n

Definition: maximum
Antonyms: minimum

n

Definition: top of a room
Antonyms: floor

n. 1. the maximum altitude that a particular aircraft can reach.

2. the altitude of the base of a cloud layer.

3. the inside planking of a ship's bottom and sides.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

The overhead surface of a room, usually a covering or decorative treatment used to conceal the floor above or the roof.

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The highest level of allowance permitted for a certain good, rate, or transaction.

Investopedia Says:
Also referred to as a cap, a ceiling is a restrictive measure placed upon certain investments. An example would be a price ceiling or limit attached to an equity order given to a broker.

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(DOD) The height above the Earth's surface of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuration phenomena that is reported as "broken," "overcast," or "obscured" and not classified as "thin" or "partial."

IN BRIEF: The inside top part of a room, opposite the floor.

Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. — Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).

Tutor's tip: She is "sealing" (fastening tightly) the cracks around the "ceiling" (the inside top of a room).

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: Both index fingers point upward, followed by both bent hands moving away from each other.

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i. The height above the ground or water of the base of the lowest layer of cloud below 6000 m (20,000 ft), covering more than half the sky (ICAO). The term also refers to the vertical visibility in a surface-based layer that completely obscures the whole sky, whichever is lesser.
ii. The highest pressure altitude that can be reached by an aircraft, excepting a zoom climb. At this altitude, the aircraft rate of climb is zero. Also called absolute ceiling.

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For a list of words related to ceiling, see:

• Forecasting and Meteorology - ceiling: altitude of base of cloud layer obscuring at least half the sky
• Space Exploration and Rocketry - ceiling: altitude at which cloud cover limits vertical visibility
• Aviation and Aerodynamics - ceiling: height above Earth’s surface of lowest significant cloud layer; altitude at which rate of climb of given aircraft falls to 100 feet (30 m) per minute
• Parts of Rooms - ceiling: overhead inside lining of room adjoining tops of walls
• Corporations and Business Practices - ceiling: upper limit set for spending

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See words rhyming with "ceiling."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Ceiling.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - loft, højdegrænse, skyhøjde, inderklædning

Nederlands (Dutch)
plafond, wegering

Français (French)
n. - (Aviat, Constr) plafond, plafond de, limite de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Decke, Maximum, (aer.) Gipfelhöhe, (mar.) Wegerung, Wolkenhöhe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - οροφή, ταβάνι, (οικον.) ανώτατο όριο, πλαφόν

Italiano (Italian)
soffitto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - teto (m)

Русский (Russian)
потолок

Español (Spanish)
n. - techo, cielo raso

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - innertak, maximihöjd (flygv.), högsta gräns (bildl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
天花板, 最高限度

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 天花板, 最高限度

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 천장, 최고한도

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 天井, 最高限度, 上昇限度, シーリング

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سقف, الحد الأقصى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תקרה, תקרת הגובה, הציפוי בלוחות של תחתית ספינה וצדיה‬

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