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

See Examples For:

elbowroom

He felt cramped in his constitutional compartment of powers, looked for elbowroom.

From Time Magazine Archive

With all its new elbowroom, the company danced with new grace and exuberance.

From Time Magazine Archive

There is ever less elbowroom for the individual; submissive cooperation with increasingly remote and mysterious forces has become the order of the day.

From Time Magazine Archive

Below, the 325 offers a lot of elbowroom.

From Time Magazine Archive

All the same, I’m free to admit that I haven’t quite the elbowroom I need.”

From Stepsons of Light by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove

Related Words

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