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

“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

Verizon’s dividend yield of 5.54% is the highest on the list, with a FCF yield estimate implying headroom of 4.31%.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 7, 2026

Like other chancellors, Reeves set her so-called fiscal rules when Labour came to power, which determine how much "headroom" the government has for its tax and spending plans.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

He said: "Last year we doubled our headroom and we are forecast to cut borrowing more than any other G7 country with borrowing set to be the lowest this year since before the pandemic."

From BBC • Jan. 22, 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