room

/ɹʊm/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ɹɵm/

room noun: an opportunity or scope (to do something). Also the alternative form of roum.

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Noun

room (countable and uncountable, plural rooms)

(archaic) An opportunity or scope (to do something).
- Thou lorde whiche knowest the hertes of all men, shewe whether thou hast chosen of these two, that the one maye take the roume of this ministracion, and apostleshippe from the which Judas by transgression fell, that he myght goo to his awne place.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts
- Nor shalt thou give me room to doubt whether it be necessity or love, that inspires this condescending impulse.1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC
(uncountable) Space for something, or to carry out an activity.
- He explains they have enough room to stand and lie down, points out the "little cup to brush our teeth", and the place where they pray.2010 August 27, Jonathan Franklin, The Guardian
(archaic) A particular portion of space.
- If he have but twelve pence in his purse, he will give it for the best room in a playhouse.1614, Thomas Overbury, Characters
- When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 14:8
Synonyms:

elbow room, legroom, space
(figuratively, uncountable) Sufficient space for or to do something.
- There was no prince in the empire who had room for such an alliance.1716 March 12 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 21. Thursday, March 2. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob...
- There are major disagreements within the Coalition and politicians always want to retain room for manoeuvre.2010 September 12, Roger Bootle, The Telegraph
A space between the timbers of a ship's frame.
(obsolete) A place; a stead.
- For this purpose I have shown that no acquisitions of guilt can compensate the loss of that solid inward comfort of mind, which is the sure companion of innocence and virtue; nor can in the least balance the evil of that horror and anxiety which, in their room, guilt introduces into our bosoms.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- A ram was accepted as a vicarious sacrifice in room of the royal victim.1900, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, 2nd edition, volume 2, page 37
(countable) A separate part of a building, enclosed by walls, a floor and a ceiling.
- Miss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards she got up and walked about the room.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
- He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
Synonyms:

chamber, quarters
(countable) (One's) bedroom.
- Go to your room!
- She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VI, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
(in plural) A set of rooms inhabited by someone; one's lodgings.
(metonymically, singular, usually) The people in a room.
- The room was on its feet.
- He was good at reading rooms.
An area for working in a coal mine.
A portion of a cave that is wider than a passage.

Synonyms:

chamber

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(Internet, countable) An IRC or chat room.
- Some users may not be able to access the AOL room.
- Here in the room we are as one / Together you and me, together you and me / Hours connect / As we switch on2000, “My Internet Girl”, performed by Aaron Carter
A place or position in society; office; rank; post, sometimes when vacated by its former occupant.
- When ſhee that rules in Rhamnis golden gates, […]
  Shall make me ſolely Emperour of Aſia,
  Then ſhall your meeds and vallours be aduaunſt
  To roomes of honour and Nobilitie.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- Let Bianca take her sister's room.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
A quantity of furniture sufficient to furnish one room.
- “I understand you need some furniture and can’t get no credit.” I liked to fell over. He say, “I’ll give you all the credit you want, but you got to pay the interest on it.” I told him, “Give me three rooms worth and charge whatever you want.”1985, August Wilson, Fences

Verb

room (third-person singular simple present rooms, present participle rooming, simple past and past participle roomed)

(intransitive) To reside, especially as a boarder or tenant.
- Doctor Watson roomed with Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street.
- Even without looking up, I knew right away who it was. It was Robert Ackley, this guy that roomed right next to me.1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 25
(transitive) To assign to a room; to allocate a room to.
- […] convinced (with no scientific evidence) that they would contract the dread disease by breathing the same air in which the patient was roomed, by touching the patient or even by changing the sheets of a patient's bed.1988, Arthur Frederick Ide, AIDS hysteria, page 12

Adjective

room (comparative more room, superlative most room)

(dialectal, obsolete) Wide; spacious; roomy.

Adverb

room (comparative more room, superlative most room)

(dialectal, obsolete) Far; at a distance; wide in space or extent.
Off from the wind.

Also used as

room is also the alternative form of roum.

room meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

room in Hindi

space: स्थान sthān
sufficient space to do something: स्थान sthān
division in a building: कमरा kamrā, कक्ष kakṣ
one's bedroom: शयनकक्ष śayankakṣ

room in Tamil

space: இடம் iṭam
specific area of space: இடம் iṭam
sufficient space to do something: இடம் iṭam
division in a building: அறை aṟai, ரூம் rūm

room in Marathi

space: खोली kholī, जागा jāgā
sufficient space to do something: जागा jāgā
division in a building: खोली kholī
internet: IRC or chat room: रूम rūm

room in Urdu

space: جَگَہ jaga
division in a building: کَمْرَہ kamra, اُتاق utāq, حُجْرَہ hujra

More languagesFewer languages

room in Bengali: জায়গা jaẏga, কোঠা kōṭha, কামরা kamra, ঘর কক্ষ ghor
room in Telugu: చోటు cōṭu, గది gadi
room in Malayalam: മുറി
room in Kannada: ಕೋಣೆ, ಕೊಠಡಿ
room in Punjabi: ਕੋਠਾ koṭhā, ਕਮਰਾ kamrā
room in Gujarati: રૂમ, ઓરડો
room in Odia: ରୁମ୍ rum
room in Sinhala: කාමරය kāmaraya
room in Assamese: কোঠা kütha
room in Nepali: कोठा
room in Pashto: ځای zāy, خونه xuna, کوټه kotta
room in Tagalog: silid, kuwarto
room in Arabic: فَضاء faḍāʔ, غُرْفَة ḡurfa, حُجْرَة ḥujra, قَمَرَة qamara
room in Malay: ruang, bilik, kamar
room in Indonesian: ruang, bilik, kamar
room in Thai: ห้อง hɔ̂ng
room in Vietnamese: không gian, chỗ, buồng, phòng
room in Myanmar: အခန်း a.hkan:
Sindhi: ڪَمِرو kamiro

Examples of room in a sentence

It was fun to watch her work the room.
When he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 2:22:
Neither that I look for a higher room in heaven.1848, William Tyndale, edited by Henry Walter, Doctrinal Treatises and Introductions to Different Portions of the Holy Scriptures:
But, then, running into the guy who rooms across the hall from me—in the Paris Metro?1971 June 13, Paul Goldberger, “On the Champs — Elysees: ‘Hey, Aren't You the Girl Who Sits Across From Me in Abnormal Psych?’”, in The New...

All 40 example sentences with room

Synonyms of room

All synonyms of room

Forms of room

Noun
plural	rooms
alternative form (obsolete)	roome
Verb
third-person singular present	rooms
present participle	rooming
past participle	roomed
past	roomed
Adjective
comparative	more room
superlative	most room
Adverb
comparative	more room
superlative	most room

Plural of room: rooms

Origin of room

From Middle English roum (“room, space”), from Old English rūm (“room, space”), from Proto-West Germanic *rūm (“room”), from Proto-Germanic *rūmą (“room”), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)rewH- (“to root; to rip, tear”), from *Hrew- (“to tear out, open”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian rüm (“room, space”), Saterland Frisian and Low German Ruum (“room, space”), Dutch ruim (“open space; cargo hold”), German and Luxembourgish Raum (“room, space”), Vilamovian raojm (“room”), Danish and Swedish rum (“room, space”), Faroese and Icelandic rúm (“space, room”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk rom (“room, space”), Gothic 𐍂𐌿𐌼 (rum, “room, space”); also Irish rúsc (“bark”), Manx roost (“bark; peel, rind”), Scottish Gaelic rùsg (“rind; bark; fleece; shell”), Welsh rhisgl (“bark”), Latin rūs (“country, fields, lands; estate, farm; village”), Ancient Greek ὀρύσσω (orússō), ὀρύττω (orúttō, “to dig”), Latvian raut (“to pull with force”), Lithuanian rauti (“to grub, pull”), Belarusian рыць (rycʹ, “to dig”), Bulgarian ри́я (ríja, “to excavate”), Czech rýt (“to dig; to engrave”), Polish ryć (“to dig”), Russian рыть (rytʹ, “to dig; to burrow, mine”), Slovak ryť (“to dig; to engrave”), Slovene...

From Middle English roum, rom, rum, from Old English rūm (“roomy, spacious, ample, extensive, large, open, unencumbered, unoccupied, temporal, long, extended, great, liberal, unrestricted, unfettered, clear, loose, free from conditions, free from occupation, not restrained within due limits, lax, far-reaching, abundant, noble, august”), from Proto-Germanic *rūmaz (“roomy, spacious”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewh₁- (“free space”). Cognate with Scots roum (“spacious, roomy”), Dutch ruim (“roomy, spacious, wide”), Danish rum (“wide, spacious”), German raum (“wide”), Icelandic rúmur (“spacious”).

From Middle English rome, from Old English rūme (“widely, spaciously, roomily, far and wide, so as to extend over a wide space, liberally, extensively, amply, abundantly, in a high degree, without restriction or encumbrance, without the pressure of care, light-heartedly, without obstruction, plainly, clearly, in detail”). Cognate with Dutch ruim (“amply”, adverb).

Phrases with room

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Words that rhyme with room

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about room

What does room mean?: Room means an opportunity or scope (to do something).
What is room in Hindi?: Room in Hindi is स्थान (sthān), कमरा (kamrā), कक्ष (kakṣ). See Room meaning in Hindi.
How do you use room in a sentence?: It was fun to watch her work the room.
What part of speech is room?: Room can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce room?: Room is pronounced /ɹʊm/ (UK).
What is the plural of room?: The plural of room is rooms.

Words near room in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: room (page history and authors); room (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); room (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); room (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); room (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-room.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-room.wav.

Cite this entry: “room.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/room. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.