the top limit imposed by law on the amount of money that can be charged or spent or the quantity of goods that can be produced or sold.
Aeronautics.
the maximum altitude from which the earth can be seen on a particular day, usually equal to the distance between the earth and the base of the lowest cloud bank.
Also called absolute ceiling.the maximum altitude at which a particular aircraft can operate under specified conditions.
Meteorology. the height above ground level of the lowest layer of clouds that cover more than half of the sky.
a lining applied for structural reasons to a framework, especially in the interior surfaces of a ship or boat.
Also called ceiling piece. Theater. the ceiling or top of an interior set, made of cloth, a flat, or two or more flats hinged together.
the act or work of a person who makes or finishes a ceiling.
vaulting, as in a medieval church.
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, nounCan be confusedceilingsealing
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.
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.”
