headroom

American  

[hed-room, -room] / ˈhɛdˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

Or head room

noun

1. Nautical. the clear space between two decks.

2. Also called headway. 

   1. clear vertical space, as between the head and sill of a doorway, the ceiling and floor of a room, or the ceiling of a vehicular passageway and a vehicle roof, as to allow passage or comfortable occupancy.

      over 7.5 feet of headroom in the attic;

      a covered bridge with limited headroom.

   2. clear vertical space above one’s head, as in a vehicle or room.

      plenty of headroom for passengers.

3. Audio. dynamic headroom.

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headroom British  

/ -ˌruːm, ˈhɛdˌrʊm /

noun

1. the height of a bridge, room, etc; clearance

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Etymology

Origin of headroom

First recorded in 1850–55; head + room

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

headroom

It was not a general suggestion of, for example, using up the increased headroom against the government's borrowing rules.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Tonali's impending exit was crucial, though, to enable Newcastle to create further headroom within the game's financial rules to reinvest in several areas of the side.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Earlier, she had said that she wished to give the Sparks salary headroom to build a team around her.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

“We think our FY26 forecast of 2.7x is on the high side of investor comfort levels and provides limited headroom for M&A.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

There was just headroom for him to stand.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• area
• arena
• capacity
• distance
• field
• location
• slot
• spot
• territory
• zone