room

American  

[room, room] / rum, rʊm /

noun

1. a portion of space within a building or other structure, separated by walls or partitions from other parts.

   a dining room.

2. rooms, lodgings or quarters, as in a house or building.

3. the persons present in a room.

   The whole room laughed.

4. space or extent of space occupied by or available for something.

   The desk takes up too much room.

5. opportunity or scope for something.

   room for improvement; room for doubt.

   Synonyms:

   allowance, margin, provision

6. status or a station in life considered as a place.

   He fought for room at the top.

7. capacity.

   Her brain had no room for trivia.

8. Mining. a working area cut between pillars.

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verb (used without object)

1. to occupy a room or rooms; lodge.

room British  

/ ruːm, rʊm /

noun

1. space or extent, esp unoccupied or unobstructed space for a particular purpose

   is there room to pass?

2. an area within a building enclosed by a floor, a ceiling, and walls or partitions

   sitting room

   dining room

3. (functioning as singular or plural) the people present in a room

   the whole room was laughing

4. (foll by for) opportunity or scope

   room for manoeuvre

5. (plural) a part of a house, hotel, etc, that is rented out as separate accommodation; lodgings

   she got rooms in town

6. a euphemistic word for lavatory

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verb

1. (intr) to occupy or share a room or lodging

   where does he room?

room Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing room

• not enough room to swing a cat
• take up space (room)

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Other Word Forms

• roomer
  noun
• underroom
  noun

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

They could return him to triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for Snell on Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

So the valuation has room to rise as if the market becomes more convinced about housing-related demand growth.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

However, “the underlying assumption in markets is that the government—whoever runs it—will be wary of the gilt market because higher yields would limit their room for fiscal maneuver,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

These issues and the team's reltively poor results have meant focus has turned to head coach Alvaro Arbeloa and his apparent inability to maintain control of the dressing room during this turbulent period.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

For sleep she partitioned off a cubicle from her writing room just large enough to hold a bed.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• accommodation
• apartment
• cabin
• cave
• chamber
• cubicle
• den
• lodging
• office
• suite