rafter

First recorded before 900; Middle English rafter, raftre, ræfter “beam, pole, rafter,” Old English ræfter; cognate with Middle Dutch rachter, rafter “plank, beam,” Middle Low German rafter, rachter, Old Norse raptr “log” (in plural, “rafters”); See raft¹

OTHER WORDS FROM rafter

raf·tered, adjectiveun·raf·tered, adjective

Words nearby rafter

rafflesia, Rafinesque, rafraîchissoir, Rafsanjani, raft, rafter, raft ice, rafting, raftsman, RAFVR, rag

Other definitions for rafter (2 of 3)

rafter²

[ raf-ter, rahf- ]

/ ˈræf tər, ˈrɑf- /

noun

a person who engages in the sport or pastime of rafting.

a person who travels on a raft, especially to flee a country.

Origin of rafter

First recorded in 1740–45; raft¹ + -er¹

Other definitions for rafter (3 of 3)

rafter³

[ raf-ter, rahf- ]

/ ˈræf tər, ˈrɑf- /

noun

a flock, especially of turkeys.

Origin of rafter

raft² + -er¹

How to use rafter in a sentence

At a job in Potomac, Wersick told detectives, he tried to reach for a rafter in an attic but slipped, falling through the ceiling into the main bedroom.
Once an electrician to Potomac’s elite, a 72-year-old bank robber heads to prison|Dan Morse|October 25, 2021|Washington Post
Just having that honor and that privilege to play under that jersey up there in the rafters, it’s special.
Dallas Needed A Spark Off The Bench. Tim Hardaway Jr. Has Been A Whole Generator.|Dorothy J. Gentry|May 28, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Every time I go out on the floor, with that name up in the rafters, you have nothing else to do except go out there and compete and play your tail off.
Dallas Needed A Spark Off The Bench. Tim Hardaway Jr. Has Been A Whole Generator.|Dorothy J. Gentry|May 28, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
It was a special game because Hardaway was playing in the arena where his father’s jersey hangs from the rafters — the No.
Dallas Needed A Spark Off The Bench. Tim Hardaway Jr. Has Been A Whole Generator.|Dorothy J. Gentry|May 28, 2021|FiveThirtyEight

He signed a $170 million extension in July 2017 and declared he wanted his jersey hanging in the rafters one day.
John Wall gave the Wizards their last great memory. Then it all fell apart.|Jerry Brewer|December 3, 2020|Washington Post
When she has an emotion, it just explodes out of her like one of those rafter-shaking high notes.
Kristin Chenoweth on Her Darker Role in ‘Family Weekend’|Kevin Fallon|March 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mule strung the two women, with their consent and help, from a rafter with strategically placed soft ropes.
Europe's Dangerous Sex Craze|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A man had come to stand beside it, his body screening the light of one of the lamps that hung from a rafter of the ceiling.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
As one end was made fast to a rafter, it hung dangling from the window.
Frank Merriwell's Bravery|Burt L. Standish
He stalked to a rafter, ran one huge finger along it, discovered a tiny speck of dust and showed it to Franz.
Rescue Dog of the High Pass|James Arthur Kjelgaard
The nest of June 28th was attached to a rafter of the front verandah of a bungalow at Lahore.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar
With this meeting we leave that Oxford before the Conquest, of which possibly not one stone, or one rafter, remains.
Oxford|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for rafter

rafter

/ (ˈrɑːftə) /

noun

any one of a set of sloping beams that form the framework of a roof

Word Origin for rafter

Old English ræfter; related to Old Saxon rehter, Old Norse raptr, Old High German rāvo; see raft 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rafter

Origin of rafter

OTHER WORDS FROM rafter

Words nearby rafter

Other definitions for rafter (2 of 3)

Origin of rafter

Other definitions for rafter (3 of 3)

Origin of rafter

Words related to rafter

How to use rafter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rafter

Word Origin for rafter