elbow room
5
4.1
- noun
- /ˈɛlboʊ ruːm/
- Informal
:
espacio
- During the busy lunch hour, the restaurant had little elbow room, making it hard for patrons to move.
- plenty of elbow room
- little elbow room
- more elbow room
Examples
-
In the park, the children had enough elbow room to run around without bumping into each other.
-
My bishop doesn't know, but he's given me exactly what I wanted: Elbow room.
-
Give a girl some elbow room, will you?
-
Be sure and save yourself plenty of elbow room.
-
The answer is to leave this rock and get some elbow room.
Blog text (16) -
Even if the population were to expand by a factor of 10, there would still be plenty of elbow room here.
Blog text (17) -
Plenty of elbow room.
Blog text (22) -
The menu is mostly small plates; pick a couple to share, but note that if you're sitting inside, you won't have much elbow room.
Blog text (1) -
The new office layout provides more elbow room for employees to collaborate comfortably.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Space available to do something or to move
16
3.8
Extra space or time that lets you relax and think
1
4.1
The feeling that a room or building is large and has plenty of space
1
3.2
The quality of having plenty of space inside a house or car
Space that lets you move or act freely
Antonyms
How Much Space
Surface Forms
Morphology
elbow + room
The phrase combines 'elbow' (a body part) with 'room' (space), so a learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the image of having space for one’s elbows and thus having enough space or freedom to move or act. Although slightly metaphorical, the compositional image is direct and follows an obvious spatial logic, making the meaning accessible to B1 learners.
Etymology
The phrase elbow room may come from a simple picture: having enough physical room to move your elbow without bumping into others. That's why it now means 'enough space to move or act freely'.