room

room — noun

1. a separate area within a house, office, or other structure, surrounded by walls

1.nounA1
Definition

a separate area within a house, office, or other structure, surrounded by walls with a floor and ceiling, designed for a specific purpose such as sleeping, eating, or working

Example

The librarian asked the children to stay quiet inside the reading room.

room + prepositional phrase locating activity

Noa's apartment has three rooms — a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom.

Common collocations
  • living room
  • dining room
  • waiting room
  • conference room
  • classroom
  • reading room
  • meeting room
Synonyms
  • chamber

    formal or literary; used for official or ceremonial rooms rather than ordinary ones

  • hall

    a large room for public events; narrower in meaning

Grammar Patterns

a/the + room

room + prepositional phrase

2. a room with a bed where people sleep, especially in a house, hotel, or shared ap

2.nounA1
Definition

a room with a bed where people sleep, especially in a house, hotel, or shared apartment

Example

The hotel room had two beds and a small balcony overlooking the sea.

hotel + room = sleeping accommodation

Ritu went up to her room after dinner to read before falling asleep.

possessive + room = one's bedroom at home

Common collocations
  • double room
  • single room
  • hotel room
  • book a room
  • guest room
Synonyms
  • bedroom

    more specific; avoids confusion with other types of rooms

  • chamber

    old-fashioned or literary; not used in everyday conversation

Grammar Patterns

a/the + room

double/single + room

Usage Note

In everyday speech, 'room' often means 'bedroom' when the context is a home or hotel — for example, 'Go to your room!' implies the bedroom.

Common Mistakes

I need to find a room to sleep in tonight' (when you mean a hotel room).
I need to find a hotel room for tonight.
'room' alone is too vague when you specifically mean paid accommodation.

3. used after a word that names the main activity, purpose, or contents of a partic

3.nounA2
Definition

used after a word that names the main activity, purpose, or contents of a particular type of room — for example, a dining room is for eating, and a waiting room is for people who wait

Example

The children are not allowed to eat snacks in the living room.

living room = room for relaxing and entertaining

Hoa sat in the hospital waiting room while her mother saw the doctor.

waiting room = room where people wait

Common collocations
  • living room
  • dining room
  • waiting room
  • chat room
  • showroom
  • changing room
  • fitting room
  • bathroom
  • bedroom

Grammar Patterns

[activity/function] + room

Usage Note

Hundreds of compound nouns follow this '-room' pattern. The first part tells you the activity (dining, meeting, waiting) or the furniture (bed, bath). Learners should memorise the most common ones as fixed vocabulary items.

4. a set of rooms that a person rents as a place to live, especially a student rent

4.nounB1
Definition

a set of rooms that a person rents as a place to live, especially a student renting from a landlord or a university

Example

Sahil found cheap rooms to rent near the university campus before the term started.

rooms to rent = rented accommodation

Diya shares a set of rooms with two other students in the old town.

shares a set of rooms = flat/house share arrangement

Common collocations
  • rent rooms
  • share rooms
  • a set of rooms
  • college rooms
  • student rooms
Synonyms
  • lodgings

    British; more old-fashioned, implies rented rooms in someone else's house

  • digs

    British informal; student slang for rented accommodation

Grammar Patterns

rooms (plural)

a set of rooms

Usage Note

British English only. In American English, 'rented rooms' is understood but 'lodgings' or 'dorm' is more common for students. The singular 'a room' (sense 1) is also used for rented single rooms.

Common Mistakes

I live in a rooms near the school.
I live in rooms near the school.' or 'I live in a room near the school.
'rooms' in this sense is typically plural and takes a plural verb, while 'a room' for a single rented room takes a singular verb.

5. enough empty physical area for a person or object to fit into a place or to move

5.nounA2
Definition

enough empty physical area for a person or object to fit into a place or to move freely

Example

There is enough room in the car boot for all five suitcases.

enough room = sufficient physical space

The suitcase was so full that there was no room for even one more shirt.

no room for = no space available

Common collocations
  • make room
  • enough room
  • no room
  • plenty of room
  • room for
  • room to move
  • leg room
  • elbow room
  • breathing room
Synonyms
  • space

    more general; can refer to any empty area, not just inside a container or vehicle

  • elbow room

    informal; enough space to move comfortably

Grammar Patterns

room + for + noun

room + to-infinitive

enough room

no room

make room

Usage Note

This sense is uncountable — you cannot say 'a room' or 'rooms' when you mean physical space. Compare: 'The desk takes up a lot of room' (uncountable, meaning space) vs. 'The desk is in my room' (countable, meaning a division of a building).

Common Mistakes

There are no rooms in the car for your bag.
There is no room in the car for your bag.
'room' meaning space is uncountable.

6. the chance, possibility, or freedom for something to happen, change, or be done

6.nounB2
Definition

the chance, possibility, or freedom for something to happen, change, or be done differently — for example, having room to improve your skills, or leaving room to change a plan

Example

The teacher told Noa there was plenty of room for improvement in her science project.

room for improvement = opportunity to get better

The contract was written very strictly and left no room to change the price later.

leave no room for = make impossible

Common collocations
  • room for improvement
  • room for growth
  • room to grow
  • room for manoeuvre
  • no room for doubt
  • leave room for
  • give someone room
Synonyms
  • scope

    more formal; refers to the range of possibilities or actions available

  • leeway

    the freedom to act or change within limits

  • latitude

    formal; freedom from restrictions in decision-making

Grammar Patterns

room + for + noun/gerund

room + to-infinitive

leave room for

Usage Note

Always followed by 'for' + noun/gerund or a 'to'-infinitive. Common in fixed phrases like 'room for improvement', 'room for doubt', 'room for discussion'. The negative form 'no room for' often expresses that something is impossible or unacceptable.

Common Mistakes

There is a room for improvement in your writing.
There is room for improvement in your writing.
no article because this sense is uncountable.
Idioms

elephant in the room

idiom

an obvious and serious problem or difficult issue that everyone is aware of but nobody wants to talk about directly

Everyone at the meeting knew about the budget cuts, but nobody mentioned the elephant in the room.

The family sat around the dinner table in silence, all thinking about the elephant in the room — their grandfather's illness.

no room to swing a cat

idiom

used to describe a room or space that is extremely small and cramped, with hardly enough space to move around

His student dormitory was so tiny that there was no room to swing a cat.

The kitchen in the old flat is impossibly small — there is no room to swing a cat in there.

room for manoeuvre

idiom

the freedom or opportunity to change a plan, decision, or situation when new conditions arise

The strict budget left the committee very little room for manoeuvre if costs went up.

Negotiators need some room for manoeuvre so they can make compromises during talks.

room for improvement

idiom

the possibility of making something better than it currently is, or the areas where something can be improved

The report was good, but the reviewer noted there was still room for improvement in the data analysis section.

Esteban knows his English pronunciation has room for improvement, so he practises every morning.

make room (for)

idiom

to create space by moving things or people out of the way, or to give up a position so that someone or something else can take it

The librarian asked the students to move their bags and make room for new readers at the table.

When the older teacher retired, she made room for a younger colleague to take over the class.

there is no room at the inn

idiom

there is no available accommodation or space; often used humorously to say that a hotel or venue is fully booked

We tried five hotels near the festival, but there was no room at the inn — every single one was full.

When the conference centre said there was no room at the inn, the organiser had to find a different venue.

smoke-filled room

idiom

a situation where important decisions are made secretly by a small group of powerful people, rather than through open democratic processes

Many voters believe the candidate was chosen in a smoke-filled room rather than through a fair election.

The contract was awarded to his friend's company in a smoke-filled room, with no bids from competitors.

the elephant in the room

idiom

An obvious problem or difficult issue that people avoid talking about.

During the family dinner, the elephant in the room was Dad's job loss.

Why is no one mentioning the elephant in the room, the budget crisis?

freedom of/room for manoeuvre

idiom

The ability to change plans or make decisions in a flexible way.

The new contract gives managers more room for manoeuvre in hiring.

Without extra funds, the team has little freedom of manoeuvre.

a smoke-filled room

idiom

A situation where a small group makes important decisions secretly, without public input.

Critics said the candidate was chosen in a smoke-filled room, not by voters.

Many believe the policy was decided in a smoke-filled room by party leaders.

room — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Room is the most common and neutral word for any area inside a building that is divided by walls. Chamber is a formal or literary equivalent, often used for official or ceremonial rooms (e.g., 'the judge's chambers') and sounds old-fashioned in everyday speech — nobody says 'I'm going to my chamber' when they mean 'my room'. Hall usually refers to a large room for gatherings (e.g., 'a concert hall') or a corridor, not an ordinary living space. Space is the uncountable term for empty area and does not imply walls or a building — you can have space in a field, a car, or a cupboard. These four words overlap only partially: a 'room' is always inside a building and enclosed by walls, a 'chamber' is a formal subset of rooms, a 'hall' is a specific type of large room, and 'space' is a much broader concept. Choosing the right word depends on formality ('chamber'), size ('hall'), or whether you mean an enclosed division ('room') versus any available area ('space'). For example, a lawyer works in 'chambers' (formal), a student works in their 'room' (everyday), and a dancer needs 'space' to practise (uncountable).

room ↗chamber ↗space ↗hall ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • a room of one's own
  • room by room
  • room and board

Prepositions

  • in a/the room
  • into a/the room
  • out of a/the room
  • across the room
  • around the room

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicIndo-European

The word 'room' comes from Old English 'rūm', which meant 'space' or 'extent' — not specifically a room inside a building. This original sense of 'empty space' survives in the uncountable noun meaning (sense 5: 'there is no room'). It is related to German 'Raum' (space/room), Dutch 'ruim' (room/space), and Old Norse 'rūm' (space). The meaning shifted over time from 'space' in general to 'a space inside a building enclosed by walls', which appeared by the 13th century. The verb sense ('to share a room') developed much later, in the 19th century, from the noun.