Meanings
- Synonym of pink ceiling.
Michael Sam has made history on May 10 by breaking the rainbow ceiling to become the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL.
2014 May 12, Craig Takeuchi, “Michael Sam makes history: First openly gay football player drafted into NFL”, in The Georgia Straight2 more examples
Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz isn’t just Israel’s only openly gay parliamentarian, he’s the Middle East’s only openly gay parliamentarian (though he was preceded in that role by Uzi Even, who broke that particular rainbow ceiling in 2002).
2013 June 27, Niv Elis, “The Middle East’s first openly gay mayor?”, in The Jerusalem PostI am an out gay man in my late 20s. […] I consider myself a successfully "launched" millennial and I've made it my mission to break the rainbow ceiling wherever I work.
2014, Chris, quoted in Conor Friedersdorf, "28 Distinct Takes on Gay Marriage and Stigma," The Atlantic, 15 April 2014Synonyms: pink ceiling
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of pink ceiling.
Origin
rainbow (a reference to the rainbow flag, an international symbol of gay pride) + ceiling (suggesting a barrier to upward advancement); modeled after glass ceiling.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
rainbow ceiling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20ceiling
“rainbow ceiling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20ceiling. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rainbow ceiling,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rainbow%20ceiling.
Source: rainbow ceiling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.