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definitions

ceiling

[see-ling]
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noun

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Idioms

    hit the ceiling, Informal. to become enraged: When he saw the amount of the bill, he hit the ceiling.

Origin of ceiling

1350–1400, for def 7; Middle English; see ceil, -ing1
Related formsceil·inged, adjectivesub·ceil·ing, nounun·ceil·inged, adjectiveun·der·ceil·ing, noun
Can be confusedceiling sealing
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for hit the ceiling

ceiling

noun

the inner upper surface of a room
  1. an upper limit, such as one set by regulation on prices or wages
  2. (as modifier)ceiling prices
the upper altitude to which an aircraft can climb measured under specified conditionsSee also service ceiling, absolute ceiling
meteorol the highest level in the atmosphere from which the earth's surface is visible at a particular time, usually the base of a cloud layer
a wooden or metal surface fixed to the interior frames of a vessel for rigidity

Word Origin for ceiling

C14: of uncertain origin
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
Word Origin and History for hit the ceiling

ceiling

n.

mid-14c., celynge, "act of paneling a room," noun formed (with -ing) from Middle English verb ceil "put a cover or ceiling over," later "cover (walls) with wainscoting, panels, etc." (early 15c.); probably from Middle French celer "to conceal," also "cover with paneling" (12c.), from Latin celare (see cell). Probably influenced by Latin caelum "heaven, sky" (see celestial).

Extended to the paneling itself from late 14c. The meaning "top surface of a room" is attested by 1530s. Figurative sense "upper limit" is from 1934. Colloquial figurative phrase hit the ceiling "lose one's temper, get explosively angry" attested by 1908; earlier it meant "to fail" (by 1900, originally U.S. college slang). Glass ceiling in the figurative sense of "invisible barrier that prevents women from advancing" in management, etc., is attested from 1988.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for hit the ceiling

hit the ceiling

To become extremely angry: “When Corey found out someone had stolen his CD player, he really hit the ceiling.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with hit the ceiling

hit the ceiling

Also, hit the roof. Explode in anger, as in Jane hit the ceiling when she saw her grades, or Dad hit the roof when he didn't get his usual bonus. The first expression dates from the early 1900s; the second is a version of a 16th-century locution, up in the house roof or house-top, meaning “enraged.”

ceiling

see glass ceiling; hit the ceiling.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.