elbow room

noun

1
a
: room for moving the elbows freely
b
: adequate space for work or operation
a lab with plenty of elbow room
2
: free scope
elbow room to try new ideas

Examples of elbow room in a Sentence

It's a small kitchen with very little elbow room. help me move the furniture so that we'll have enough elbow room to do some aerobics
Recent Examples on the Web In the second component, prep and storage areas for food and accessories (all included) will give budding sous chefs plenty of elbow room. Pamela Brill, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024 Pre-renovation, the flagship was more sectional, with less elbow room. David Moin, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019 First is, wear your normal business clothes, as François-Henri Pinault, above, given plenty of elbow room between Gwyneth Paltrow and Lenny Kravitz, dependably does. Guy Martin, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024 Though larger overall than is typical for a luxury ship, Silver Nova is spacious and uncrowded, offering more elbow room per passenger than almost any other cruise vessel. David Swanson, Travel + Leisure, 27 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for elbow room 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elbow room.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of elbow room was circa 1540

Dictionary Entries Near elbow room

Cite this Entry

“Elbow room.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elbow%20room. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

elbowroom

noun
el·​bow·​room
ˈel-ˌbō-ˌrüm,
-ˌru̇m
1
: room for moving the elbows freely
2
: enough space for work or operation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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