ceiling

A ceiling is the flat area above your head when you are inside a room. The standard ceiling height in the United States is eight feet.

The ceiling fan is attached to the ceiling.

• A ceiling fan helps circulate air inside a room.
• Kitchens often have light fixtures attached to the ceiling.
• Canister lighting is embedded inside the ceiling.
• It’s hard to paint a ceiling.
• Ceilings are usually painted white.
• It’s popular to have high ceilings in a house or an apartment.
• A ten-foot ceiling or a twelve-foot ceiling is considered high.
• Can you touch the ceiling where you live?

You can use the word "ceiling" figuratively when speaking about limitations.

• A glass ceiling is a barrier that prevents people of certain groups from obtaining their goals.
• Some women will say that a glass ceiling prevents them from getting promoted at work.
• When there is a ceiling on prices or rates, that means (that) they can’t go any higher.
• When a stock price hits a ceiling, some investors sell, believing that the stock price won’t go any higher.

To hit the ceiling is to be angry or upset about something:

• I hit the ceiling when I got my cable bill.
• Amanda’s parents are going to hit the ceiling when they find out she failed some of her classes this semester.