ceil

C3E1I1L1
/siːl/

verb

To line or finish (a surface, such as a wall), with plaster, stucco, thin boards, or similar.

UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

ceil1

verbceil (third-person singular simple present ceils, present participle ceiling, simple past and past participle ceiled)

present singular third person ceils · participle present ceiling · participle past ceiled · past ceiled · alternative ciel

  1. transitiveTo line or finish (a surface, such as a wall), with plaster, stucco, thin boards, or similar.

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

    1903 June 1, W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, “Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece”, in The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, 2nd edition, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., →OCLC, page 139

ceil2

nounceil (plural ceils)

plural ceils

  1. poeticA ceiling.

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

    1890, Ambrose E. Pratt, Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of Sandwich and Bourne, at Sandwich, Massachusetts, September 3, 1889, page 89
  2. abbreviationmathematicsAbbreviation of ceiling.
verbceil (third-person singular simple present ceils, present participle ceiling, simple past and past participle ceiled)

present singular third person ceils · participle present ceiling · participle past ceiled · past ceiled

  1. mathematicsTo set a higher bound.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
ceiling

Origin

ceil · verb

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

Full word history & related roots →

ceil · noun, verb

Abbrevation of ceiling, influenced by French ciel

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech zastropovat, omezit shora
  • zastropovatto set a higher bound
  • omezit shorato set a higher bound

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ceil

realmobilefeeldealsteelappealwheelsealmealNeilrevealreelstealheelpeelhealnealsteelerepealtealsurrealcelalleleLille
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

SEALsealSEALsealSEALseal

Anagrams

liceCeliLeic
Cite this entry
APA

ceil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ceil

MLA

“ceil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ceil. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ceil,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ceil.

Source: ceil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.