ceiling

Word family

Related topics: Buildings, Air

cei·ling /ˈsiːlɪŋ/ S3 W3 noun [countableC] → sealing

1 TBBthe inner surface of the top part of a room 天花板 → roof

rooms with high ceilings

天花板很高的房间

a light hanging from the ceiling

吊在天花板上的灯

2 LIMITthe largest number or amount of something that is officially allowed 上限，最高限度

ceiling of

a public spending ceiling of £240 billion

上限为2,400亿英镑的公共开支

impose/set/put a ceiling (on something)

The government imposed a ceiling on imports of foreign cars.

政府对进口外国汽车的数量设了上限。

raise/lower the ceiling (on something) 提高/下调（某事物的）上限

3. TTA technical the greatest height an aircraft can fly at or the level of the clouds 最大飞行高度，升限；云幕高度

Examples from the Corpus

ceiling• There is a ceiling on the amount of foreign investment allowed in any company in the country.• The wooden beams and ceiling were crackling in the extreme heat.• Windows were shattered and ceilings cracked in several nearby towns.• The walls and ceilings were black, and the sole illumination was provided by black candles set in empty cat food cans.• But the tour revealed that the building has retained many treasures from its past: Its cathedral ceilings still have rounded corners.• Congress was once again considering raising the federal debt ceiling.• Millions of federal employees may not receive paychecks unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.• Import quotas may rise from the present ceiling of 18.5 million to 20 million.• Genius is Michelangelo at work on the Sistine ceiling.• Benny found herself in a rock-walled tunnel, with bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling at regular intervals.• And heaped up in one corner, almost touching the ceiling, was a huge pile of junk.• The ossuary inside the sanctuary is square with a vaulted ceiling.

impose/set/put a ceiling (on something)• We know the MiG-2s already set a ceiling record of 120,000 feet.• It often pays the artist to try and put a ceiling figure on these expenses.• The Chancellor has set a ceiling of £250,000.• We will issue factories and power stations with licences setting a ceiling on permitted emissions of pollutants.• The regulations set a ceiling of 15 parts per billion.• So they risk losing most potential economic growth if a climate treaty sets ceilings on emissions.

From Longman Business Dictionary

ceilingcei·ling /ˈsiːlɪŋ/ noun [countableC]

the largest level, amount, or number of something that is officially allowed

Oil price ceilings remained in place for a decade.

the strict spending ceilings imposed by last year’s budget

Wage ceilings needed to be introduced and the state pension scheme overhauled.

ceiling on

The new government set a ceiling on prices for basic foodstuffs.

Origin ceiling

(1500-1600) ceil “to provide with a ceiling” ((16-20 centuries)), probably from Latin caelare “to cut into a surface”

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus