ceiling

Everyday

1. The inside surface at the top of a room, above your head. tree →
2. An upper limit that something cannot go above, like a price ceiling. tree →
3. The height of the lowest clouds, important for planes. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, lights, fans and smoke alarms are fixed on ceilings; smoke rises, so smoke alarms go on the ceiling, and you should crawl low under smoke in a fire. In maths, room problems use the ceiling: the area of the ceiling is the same as the floor in a box-shaped room; height from floor to ceiling. In science, warm air rises towards the ceiling. Phrases: "on the ceiling", "hit the ceiling" (get very angry), "glass ceiling" (an unfair limit on getting ahead), "ceiling fan", "floor to ceiling".

Examples

• A spider was crawling on the ceiling. tree →
• The smoke alarm is on the ceiling. tree →
• The ceiling is 2.5 metres high. tree →
• We painted the ceiling white. tree →
• Dad hit the ceiling when he saw the mess. tree →
• The ceiling fan kept the room cool. tree →
• Bookshelves went from floor to ceiling. tree →
• In a fire, smoke collects at the ceiling first, so stay low. tree →
• Shining glow-worms covered the ceiling, and sky-blue bats flapped their transparent wings. tree →

Note

Spelling trap: "ei" after c — c-e-i-l-i-n-g ("i before e, except after c"). Do not confuse with "sealing" (closing tightly), which sounds the same. In maths, in a rectangular room, ceiling area = length × width, the same as the floor.

In Jewish tradition

In everyday life, lights, fans and smoke alarms are fixed on ceilings; smoke rises, so smoke alarms go on the ceiling, and you should crawl low under smoke in a fire. In maths, room problems use the ceiling: the area of the ceiling is the same as the floor in a box-shaped room; height from floor to ceiling. In science, warm air rises towards the ceiling. Phrases: "on the ceiling", "hit the ceiling" (get very angry), "glass ceiling" (an unfair limit on getting ahead), "ceiling fan", "floor to ceiling".

Note

Spelling trap: "ei" after c — c-e-i-l-i-n-g ("i before e, except after c"). Do not confuse with "sealing" (closing tightly), which sounds the same. In maths, in a rectangular room, ceiling area = length × width, the same as the floor.