Definition
The height above the ground or water of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena that is reported as broken, overcast, or obscured, and not classified as thin or partial.
Plain English
How high above the ground the lowest solid-looking cloud layer sits. If most of the sky is covered by clouds at, say, 1,500 feet, the ceiling is 1,500 feet.
Context Anchor
Seen in weather reports, forecasts, and instrument approach planning when deciding whether conditions are high enough to fly or land safely.
Derivation
From the everyday word 'ceiling' — the upper surface of a room. The sky's 'ceiling' is the cloud layer that effectively caps how high a pilot can fly visually, just as a room's ceiling caps how high you can stand.
Why Pilots Care
Directly determines whether VFR flight is legal and sets the weather minimums for many IFR procedures.
Grounding Statement
A 600-foot ceiling means the lowest qualifying cloud cover or sky-blocking layer starts about 600 feet above the ground.
Intuition Check
Do not read ceilings as the top of the clouds. In aviation weather, ceilings mean the lowest overhead layer that limits what you can see above you.
Example Sentence 1
The METAR reported a ceiling of 800 feet, well below the minimums for a visual approach.
Example Sentence 2
With ceilings at 1200 feet we flew the ILS to circling minimums.