headroom

or head room

[ hed-room, -roo m ]

/ ˈhɛdˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR headroom ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Nautical. the clear space between two decks.

Also called headway.

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.
clear vertical space above one’s head, as in a vehicle or room: plenty of headroom for passengers.

Audio. dynamic headroom.

Nearby words

headrail, headreach, headrest, headrig, headright, headroom, heads, heads or tails, heads up, heads will roll, heads-up

Origin of headroom

First recorded in 1850–55; head + room

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for headroom

Even given the extraordinary growth off the high base it is putting up, Amazon still has plenty of headroom.
Amazon Stock May Be Up, but the Company Still Doesn’t Make Any Money|Daniel Gross|October 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
So the Treasury Department did some fancy footwork and found some headroom by halting payments into government pension plans.
What You Need to Know About the Debt Ceiling|David A. Graham|July 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This roof was level with the bank of the hedge and gave about four feet of headroom.
The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry in the War 1914-1918|F.L. Morrison
In order to get headroom there is 'trunk' 'rise' on the deck, as shown on the cross-section drawing, 18 in.
Yachting Vol. 2|Various.

Plenty of headroom has always been my cry; I believe that where it is attended to there is very rarely an accident.
Riding for Ladies|Mrs. Power O'Donoghue
The headroom between the subway roof and the surface of the street was 4.75 feet.
The New York Subway|Anonymous
Rawson could have stood upright in it with easily another two feet of headroom to spare.
Two Thousand Miles Below|Charles Willard Diffin

British Dictionary definitions for headroom

headroom

headway

/ (ˈhɛdˌrʊm, -ˌruːm) /

noun

the height of a bridge, room, etc; clearance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012