elbowroom

American  

[el-boh-room, -room] / ˈɛl boʊˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

noun

1. ample room; space in which to move freely.

2. scope; opportunity.

   a job with elbowroom.

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elbowroom British  

/ -ˌrʊm, ˈɛlbəʊˌruːm /

noun

1. sufficient scope to move or function

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Etymology

Origin of elbowroom

First recorded in 1530–40; elbow + room

Example Sentences

"The space is expansive and really allows for the breathing and elbowroom to engage with exhibitors and discover new books."

From Los Angeles Times

Dinner may be late, there may be little elbowroom, the turkey may even be charred — and they’ll still like you.

From Washington Post

Elbowroom is fine if you are sitting next to your sweaty uncle on the way to mom’s funeral.

From The Wall Street Journal

That would account for the additional elbowroom.

From New York Times

The Spanish colonies in America proved at this time that the distance which separated them from the mother country, and the greater sense of space and elbowroom which they enjoyed and in which several generations of their people had been born, was beginning to differentiate the Spanish Americans from their kinsmen in old Spain.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• amount
• breadth
• degree
• duration
• expansion
• intensity
• length
• matter
• measure
• quantity
• scope
• size
• term