I. ˈrüm, ˈru̇m noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English roum, from Old English rūm; akin to Old High German, Old Norse, & Gothic rūm room, space; all from a prehistoric Germanic noun derived from an adjective represented by Old English rūm roomy, spacious, Old High German rūmi, Old Norse rūmr, Gothic rūms; akin to Latin rur-, rus country, open land, Middle Irish rōe, rōi level field, Avestan ravah space, distance
1.
a. : unoccupied area : space
increasing population requires more room
infinity of room in the reaches of the universe
b. : unoccupied area or space sufficient for additional accommodation
room at the inn
room for pasture
room to swing a cat in
tearing down tenements to make room for new building
2.
a. : a particular area or limited portion of space : compass
plenty of room between the houses
a small car requires little room
the sonnet's narrow room of 14 lines — O.S.J.Gogarty
b. Scotland : a piece of land : holding , farm
3.
a. obsolete : a place or station assigned to a person or thing
b. obsolete : an office or position attributed to a particular person : rank , post
and therein placed a race of upstart creatures, to supply perhaps our vacant room — John Milton
c.
(1) : a place or station formerly occupied by another
in whose room I am now assuming the pen — Sir Walter Scott
be thou in Adam's room the head of all mankind — John Milton
(2) archaic : place , stead
substitute judgment in the room of sensation — Joseph Butler
4.
a. : a part of the inside of a building, shelter, or dwelling usually set off by a partition
15 room colonial mansion … for rest or convalescent home — advt
: chamber ; especially : such a part used as a lodging
goes back to his furnished room — Norman Mailer
the individual who actually assigns guests to their rooms — Don Short
b. rooms plural : a suite or set of rooms used for lodging : apartment , flat
sells his house and takes rooms in the city
c. : lodging consisting of a room usually specifically earned or furnished
room , board, and the return trip home … were paid for — Newsweek
— compare room and board
d. : the people or an assemblage gathered in a room
attract the attention of the whole room
5. : the opportunity, occasion, or capacity for something (as an action, development, or mental process)
room to hope
room to improve
room for argument
room in morality for the high aspiration, the courageous decision — Havelock Ellis
room in art and in civilization for many kinds of art — Thomas Munro
no room in his mind for that malaise — Van Wyck Brooks
6. : a chamber in which coal is mined — called also breast, stall
Synonyms:
berth , elbowroom , clearance , leeway , margin , play : room is a general term for unfilled open space without obstruction or encumbrance to free activity
space is room … and room is roominess, a chance to be, live and move — John Dewey
It may also indicate an adequate occasion, opportunity, or capacity
not alone in believing Mexico's behavior left no room for peaceful settlement — R.A.Billington
which never arrived at so high a point of definition but that it left great room for disputes — G.G.Coulton
berth , orig. maneuvering space for a ship, still indicates a separation by wide clear space in various idioms
classified as the only venomous snake and is deservedly given a wide berth — American Guide Series: Delaware
elbowroom indicates adequate free space for physical activity or, by extension, freedom from cramping constraint
the Swiss, who have always liked plenty of elbowroom in their business dealings, are considerably irked by the restrictions of postwar trading — Mollie Panter-Downes
clearance as a synonym in this series stresses lack of obstruction; it is used in connection with the physical fact of a clear space around a moving object or with the indication that there is no objection, reservation, or check against free procedure
the new tunnels provide clearance for the largest trucks
the steel industry refused to make any wage proposals until it obtained federal clearance for higher steel prices — Current History
leeway may indicate a reserve resource or advantageous characteristic not earmarked or calculated on, an allowed tolerance, or a measure of personal discretion or freedom from restriction in activity
leeway of a few minutes to change planes
in many more or less routine matters the Union government allows them a considerable amount of leeway — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink
margin in this sense is like leeway in suggesting a reserve for contingencies and emergencies or a reserve of any sort facilitating free and easy procedure
the most dogged, strong-minded ones, who find themselves with a margin of intellectual freshness and inquisitiveness at the end of the day — W.N.Francis
play applies to the fact of free movement or action without severe checks or cramping surroundings, especially to reactions to force or stress without more than incidental suggestions about ample space or roominess
the play of a gusty wind — Amy Lowell
planning versus the play of the free market — Times Literary Supplement
a world in which affection has free play, in which love is purged of the instinct for domination — Bertrand Russell
II. adverb
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: obsolete room, adjective, roomy, spacious, from Middle English roum, rom, room, from Old English rūm — more at room I
obsolete : large 2
III. ˈrüm, ˈru̇m transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English roumen, from roum, adjective
archaic : to clear (a space) from encumbrance : make roomy or void
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: room (I)
intransitive verb
: to occupy a room : lodge
the students room together in the dormitory
transitive verb
: to accommodate (a guest or roomer) with lodgings ; also : to convey to or install in a room
a bellman rooms the guests at the hotel