roof

American  

[roof, roof] / ruf, rʊf /

noun

plural

roofs

1. the external upper covering of a house or other building.

2. a frame for supporting this.

   an open-timbered roof.

3. the highest part or summit.

   The Himalayas are the roof of the world.

4. something that in form or position resembles the roof of a house, as the top of a car, the upper part of the mouth, etc.

5. a house.

6. Mining. the rock immediately above a horizontal mineral deposit.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to provide or cover with a roof.

idioms

1. go through the roof,

   1. to increase beyond all expectations.

      Foreign travel may very well go through the roof next year.

   2. Informal. Also hit the roof to lose one's temper; become extremely angry.

2. raise the roof,

   1. to create a loud noise.

      The applause raised the roof.

   2. to complain or protest noisily.

      He'll raise the roof when he sees that bill.

roof British  

/ ruːf /

noun

1. 1. a structure that covers or forms the top of a building

   2. ( in combination )

      the rooftop

   3. ( as modifier )

      a roof garden

2. the top covering of a vehicle, oven, or other structure

   the roof of a car

3. anatomy any structure that covers an organ or part

   the roof of the mouth

4. a highest or topmost point or part

   Mount Everest is the roof of the world

5. a house or other shelter

   a poor man's roof

6. mountaineering the underside of a projecting overhang

7. informal

   1. to get extremely angry; become furious

   2. to rise or increase steeply

8. 1. to create a boisterous disturbance

   2. to react or protest heatedly

---

verb

1. (tr) to provide or cover with a roof or rooflike part

roof More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing roof

• go through the roof
• hit the ceiling (roof)
• like a cat on hot bricks (a hot tin roof)
• raise the roof

---

Usage

Plural word for roof The plural form of roof is roofs (not rooves). Roof is not pluralized by replacing the -f ending with -ves, as is done in many other words ending in -f, such as shelf/shelves, scarf/scarves, and hoof/hooves. The word roof comes from Old English, and like many Old English-derived words ending in -f, it initially had two plural forms: roofs and rooves. It’s not clear why rooves dropped out of use. It might be simply because we don’t use the plural form of roof very often, compared to more common words like leaf/leaves. Other examples of this pluralization pattern include proof/proofs, chief/chiefs, and brief/briefs.

Other Word Forms

• reroof verb (used with object)
• roofer noun
• roofless adjective
• rooflike adjective
• self-roofed adjective
• underroof noun
• unroofed adjective

Etymology

Origin of roof

before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English hrōf; cognate with Dutch roef cover, cabin, Old Norse hrōf

Example Sentences

"But it is a reality that antisemitism is through the roof and we have to protect ourselves."

From Barron's

In a blog post, the band's former press officer Stuart Bailie recalled telling the papers that a "pile up of snow on the venues makes it too hazardous" to play, because "a roof might collapse".

From BBC

“Burned the roof of my mouth,” he said afterward.

From The Wall Street Journal

An AFP team in the Guzar area of Kabul saw one destroyed house and around a dozen others that were badly damaged, with collapsed roofs and walls.

From Barron's

During heavy rains, water spouts from the mouths of carved dragons on the corners of the roof.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ceiling
• house