room
Americannoun
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rooms
plural
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a portion of space within a building or other structure, separated by walls or partitions from other parts.
a dining room.
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rooms, lodgings or quarters, as in a house or building.
-
the persons present in a room.
The whole room laughed.
-
space or extent of space occupied by or available for something.
The desk takes up too much room.
-
opportunity or scope for something.
room for improvement; room for doubt.
-
status or a station in life considered as a place.
He fought for room at the top.
-
capacity.
Her brain had no room for trivia.
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Mining. a working area cut between pillars.
verb (used without object)
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rooms,
present (3rd person singular)
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roomed,
past participle, past
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rooming
present participle
noun
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space or extent, esp unoccupied or unobstructed space for a particular purpose
is there room to pass?
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an area within a building enclosed by a floor, a ceiling, and walls or partitions
sitting room
dining room
-
(functioning as singular or plural) the people present in a room
the whole room was laughing
-
(foll by for) opportunity or scope
room for manoeuvre
-
(plural) a part of a house, hotel, etc, that is rented out as separate accommodation; lodgings
she got rooms in town
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a euphemistic word for lavatory
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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roomsimple
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roomssimple
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have roomedperfect
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has roomedperfect
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am roomingprogressive
-
are roomingprogressive
-
is roomingprogressive
-
have been roomingperfect progressive
-
has been roomingperfect progressive
Past
-
roomedsimple
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had roomedperfect
-
was roomingprogressive
-
were roomingprogressive
-
had been roomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of room
First recorded before 900; Middle English roum(e), Old English rūm; cognate with Dutch ruim, German Raum
Explanation
A room is a space in a house or building that's usually enclosed with walls. Your favorite room in your house might be the den where the TV is, or the cozy kitchen. There's the physical area called a room, and then there's the concept of room, which can mean "space" or "opportunity." If you have room in your life for a puppy, it means you can make the time to walk it and feed it and play with it. If you have room in your bedroom for a puppy, it means you have the physical space you need for a dog bed.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I came out of that room and my friend burst into hysterical tears."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Both metrics beat Wall Street estimates of 111.8 million room nights and $32.69 billion in bookings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
One time, David Bowie and I sat in my living room, just the two of us, and drank coffee and played “Heroes” on acoustic guitar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
“This creates greater policy uncertainty for pharma in the months ahead, giving European governments more room to slow-play” those negotiations, according to Diederik Stadig, ING’s senior healthcare economist.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
I do remember our mom in this very room, cooking up a storm of delicious meals.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
By the 1990s and beyond, they were raising substantial sums for equipment, buildings, research, and the likes of play areas in children's wards and well-equipped staff rooms.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
There’s no shortage of fun to be had with multiple game rooms, a racquetball court, a casino room, a billiard room, and even a lavish nightclub.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Many still get sick and show up at emergency rooms unable to pay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Last year the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, underwent a $50-million renovation of its 373 guest rooms, suites and spa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Leah hired a business manager to book stages, rent hotel rooms, and inform reporters.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Joshua, who roomed with Blankfein’s son Alexander, launched Vostu, a social networking site for Latin American users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I roomed with Stephen Hughes that season but Matt Upson and Alex would come to our room to play PlayStation games when we were in hotels for away matches.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Schallock, then 27, roomed with Berra and was tasked with picking up Berra’s daily delivery of “funnies” as they called them.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
While working on the reboot, I roomed with the associate producer, Marcy Carriker, who married Tom in 1990.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
The whole time he roomed next to me, I never even once saw him brush his teeth.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
Four months later, co-chairing the February 2020 National Prayer Breakfast, Suozzi and Moolenaar referred to rooming together.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Moreover, it’s not just young people fresh out of school who are rooming with others to keep their housing costs low.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2025
This explosive, eye-opening work came from Ivy League professor Desmond moving to a trailer park and rooming house in a poverty-stricken part of Milwaukee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
She lived in the same run-down area of seedy rooming houses as Raffo, whom she had befriended on the streets.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2023
Apart from these details, this could be a college guest room, for the less distinguished visitors; or a room in a rooming house, of former times, for ladies in reduced circumstances.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
