room
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room¹
- /ɹʊm/ UK
- /ɹuːm/ UK
- /ɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹum/ US
- /ɾʉm/ Scotland
- /ɻʉm/ Northern Ireland
- /ɹʊm/
Sounds like rheum (/ɹu(ː)m/, /ɹʉm/), rum (/ɹʊm/) (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -uːm, -ʊm
Where it comes from
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 riti (“to dig”), Ukrainian ри́ти (rýty, “to dig, excavate”), Central Kurdish ڕێو (rêw, “public hair”), Tocharian A kärpi (“raw, rough; common”), Tocharian B kärpiye (“raw, rough; common”), Sanskrit लोमन् (loman), रोमन् (roman, “body hair; down, wool”). More at rural. Doublet of Raum, a surname from German.
The word superficially appears to be an exception to the Great Vowel Shift, which might have produced the pronunciation /ɹaʊm/, but the retention of Middle English /uː/ before /m/ is regular. In fact, /aʊ/ does not occur before non-coronal consonants in Standard Modern English native vocabulary. Some dialects did undergo diphthongization in such a position and the pronunciation /ɹaʊm/ occurs, for example, in Lancashire.
noun rooms · roome
- 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.
- 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.
-
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.
Similar: elbow room, legroom, space
- Sufficient space for or to do something. There was no prince in the empire who had room for such an alliance.
- A space between the timbers of a ship's frame.
- 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.
- 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.
- (One's) bedroom. Go to your room!
- A set of rooms inhabited by someone; one's lodgings.
- The people in a room. The room was on its feet.
- An area for working in a coal mine.
-
A portion of a cave that is wider than a passage.
Similar: chamber
- An IRC or chat room. Some users may not be able to access the AOL room.
- 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.
- 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.”
verb rooms · rooming · roomed · roome
- To reside, especially as a boarder or tenant. Doctor Watson roomed with Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street.
- 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.
room²
- /ɹʊm/ UK
- /ɹuːm/ UK
- /ɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹum/ US
- /ɾʉm/ Scotland
- /ɻʉm/ Northern Ireland
- /ɹʊm/
Sounds like rheum (/ɹu(ː)m/, /ɹʉm/), rum (/ɹʊm/) (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -uːm, -ʊm
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective more room · most room
- Wide; spacious; roomy.
room³
- /ɹʊm/ UK
- /ɹuːm/ UK
- /ɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹum/ US
- /ɾʉm/ Scotland
- /ɻʉm/ Northern Ireland
- /ɹʊm/
Sounds like rheum (/ɹu(ː)m/, /ɹʉm/), rum (/ɹʊm/) (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -uːm, -ʊm
Where it comes from
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).
adverb more room · most room
- Far; at a distance; wide in space or extent.
- Off from the wind.
room⁴
- /ɹʊm/ UK
- /ɹuːm/ UK
- /ɹɵm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹʉwm/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ɹum/ US
- /ɾʉm/ Scotland
- /ɻʉm/ Northern Ireland
- /ɹʊm/
Sounds like rheum (/ɹu(ː)m/, /ɹʉm/), rum (/ɹʊm/) (without the foot–strut split) · Rhymes with -uːm, -ʊm
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: elbow room, way, board, chamber, accommodation, house, salon, sala, motel, housing, apartment, parlor, dorm, hotel, hut, cabin
noun
Similar: room
Translations
Every language
noun opportunity or scope
| Italiano | motivo, opportunità |
|---|---|
| Русский | возмо́жность vozmóžnostʹ |
noun space
| Español | espacio, lugar, cabida, cupo, cabimiento, aforo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 공간 gonggan, 자리 jari, 겨를 gyeoreul, 틈 teum, 짬 jjam, 여유 yeoyu |
| 日本語 | 空間 kūkan, 間 ma |
| 中文 | 空間 /空间 kōngjiān |
| हिन्दी | स्थान sthān |
| Português | lugar |
| Français | espace, place |
| Deutsch | Raum, Platz |
| Italiano | spazio |
| Ελληνικά | χώρος chóros |
| Română | spațiu, loc |
| Русский | ме́сто mésto, простра́нство prostránstvo, просто́р prostór |
| Tiếng Việt | không gian, chỗ |
| العربية | فَضاء faḍāʔ |
| עברית | מָקוֹם makóm |
noun specific area of space
| Italiano | posto |
|---|
noun sufficient space to do something
| Español | cabida |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | स्थान sthān |
| Русский | простра́нство prostránstvo, ме́сто mésto |
noun division in a building
| Español | cuarto, habitación, pieza, sala, paraqué, cuartucho |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 방 bang |
| 日本語 | 部屋 heya, 間 ma |
| 中文 | 房間 /房间 fángjiān, 屋子 wūzi |
| हिन्दी | कमरा kamrā, कक्ष kakṣ |
| Kiswahili | chumba |
| Português | cômodo, sala, quarto |
| Français | pièce, salle, chambre |
| Deutsch | Raum, Zimmer, Kammer, Gemach |
| Italiano | stanza, camera, sala |
| Ελληνικά | δωμάτιο domátio |
| Română | cameră, odaie, încăpere |
| Русский | ко́мната kómnata, но́мер nómer, ка́мера kámera, поко́й pokój |
| Tiếng Việt | buồng, phòng |
| العربية | غُرْفَة ḡurfa, حُجْرَة ḥujra, قَمَرَة qamara, قَمْرَة qamra, صَالَة ṣāla, بَيْت bayt |
| עברית | חֶדֶר khéder |
noun one's bedroom
| Español | alcoba |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | शयनकक्ष śayankakṣ |
| Português | quarto |
| Français | chambre |
| Ελληνικά | δωμάτιο domátio, κρεβατοκάμαρα krevatokámara |
| Русский | спальня spalʹnja |
verb to reside
| Italiano | alloggiare |
|---|
Talk about this word "room." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/room. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. room. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/room "room." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/room.Cite this
@misc{room_2026,
title = {room},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/room},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
