Ceil

//siːl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A ceiling. poetic

    "[…] The mossy sward / Beneath their feet, their carpet was, / An azure ceil, the sky above; […]"

  2. 2
    Abbreviation of ceiling. abbreviation, alt-of
Verb
  1. 1
    To line or finish (a surface, such as a wall), with plaster, stucco, thin boards, or similar. transitive

    "It is nearly always old and bare, built of rough boards, and neither plastered nor ceiled."

  2. 2
    To set a higher bound.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bonnetcapceilingcoifcorkcrown

Example

More examples

"It is nearly always old and bare, built of rough boards, and neither plastered nor ceiled."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Uncertain; perhaps related to Latin cēlō (“to hide”).

Etymology 2

Abbrevation of ceiling, influenced by French ciel

Related phrases

ceil function

More for "ceil"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.