room

[room, roo m] /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.
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.
verb (used without object)
9.
to occupy a room or rooms; lodge.
Origin
before 900; Middle English roum(e), Old English rūm; cognate with Dutch ruim, German Raum
Related forms
underroom, noun
Synonyms
5. provision, margin, allowance.
Examples from the web for room
  • Instead of building one huge battery store in a dedicated room, many cabinet-sized battery packs are spread among the servers.
  • Guidelines and instructions for building a safe room.
  • Which is why a bonus room, designed with flexibility in mind, is a popular feature.
  • Employers who provide for mental health care may cultivate a better balance sheet as well as a happier lunch room.
  • The owner shoots the bird a nasty glare as he hangs up, mutters about being fooled again and stalks out of the room.
  • The pure, flawless crystal conducts electricity faster at room temperature than any other substance.
  • She is awake yet apparently unaware of anything going on in the hospital room around her.
  • Low-tech emergency room therapies can stem the damage from traumatic brain injuries.
  • There is room for debate about the best way to subsidize students.
  • The room grew unbearably hot as researchers gathered to discuss the moral development of students.
British Dictionary definitions for room

room

/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 pl) the people present in a room: the whole room was laughing
4.
(foll by for) opportunity or scope: room for manoeuvre
5.
(pl) 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 (sense 1)
verb
7.
(intransitive) (mainly US) to occupy or share a room or lodging: where does he room?
Derived Forms
roomer, noun
Word Origin
Old English rūm; related to Gothic, Old High German rūm
Word Origin and History for room
n.

Old English rum "space" (extent or time); "scope, opportunity," from Proto-Germanic *ruman (cf. Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic rum, German Raum "space," Dutch ruim "hold of a ship, nave"), nouns formed from Germanic adjective *ruma- "roomy, spacious," from PIE root *reue- "to open; space" (cf. Avestan ravah- "space," Latin rus "open country," Old Irish roi, roe "plain field," Old Church Slavonic ravinu "level," Russian raviina "a plain," Polish rum "space"). Old English also had a frequent adjective rum "roomy, wide, long, spacious."

Original sense preserved in make room "clear space for oneself" (late 14c.); meaning "chamber, cabin" first recorded early 14c. as a nautical term, and first applied mid-15c. to chambers within houses. The Old English word for this was cofa, ancestor of cove. Room-service is attested from 1913; room-temperature from 1879. Roomth "sufficient space" (1530s) now is obsolete.

v.

"to occupy rooms" (especially with another) as a lodger," 1828, from room (n.). Related: Roomed; rooming. Rooming-house is from 1889. In Old English (rumian) and Middle English the verb meant "become clear of obstacles; make clear of, evict."

Slang definitions & phrases for room

room

noun

A nightclub; boite, nitery (1950s+ Show business)

Related Terms

balloon room, bucket shop, elbow room, rumpus room, tearoom


room in Technology


channel

Idioms and Phrases with room

room

In addition to the idiom beginning with
room
also see: