glass ceiling

noun

: an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions

Examples of glass ceiling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
But Knight has been that popular for the past year-plus and has still had difficulties shattering completely through that glass ceiling. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024 The athlete roster wasn’t the only glass ceiling to break at Rampage–the judging panel has never included a woman before. Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 9 Oct. 2024 The second floor hosts a bedroom with two single beds and the third and uppermost floor has a double bed and glass ceiling. Adam Williams, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2024 Hillary Clinton's speech talking about Kamala finally breaking the glass ceiling. Leah Feiger, WIRED, 22 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for glass ceiling 

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of glass ceiling was in 1984

Dictionary Entries Near glass ceiling

Cite this Entry

“Glass ceiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20ceiling. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

glass ceiling

noun
: an informal limit to how high a position women and minorities can earn in a company
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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