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.

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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

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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

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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

Explanation

The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire! Just kidding. That’s from an ‘80s rap song and it means a party is rocking. A roof is a building's cover. It keeps the rain out of your house party. The roof on your house or apartment building keeps rain, snow, and harsh sunlight out. Vehicles have roofs too: "I could hear sleet hitting the car roof," and so do enclosed spaces like porches or caves. You might even refer to the fact that you have a home as "having a roof over my head." As a verb, to roof means "to install a roof." When you "raise the roof," you make a lot of festive noise.

Example Sentences

During the short trip, he counted 25 motels with brands such as Red Roof Inn and Motel 6 and decided China was ready for a budget lodging behemoth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and shoddy construction materials in the South Asian country of more than 240 million people.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

The company unveiled its first fully designed and manufactured solar panel last month, which is being made at the Buffalo factory alongside the Solar Roof.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

Three shows were tied with the most wins at the ceremony - with Fiddler on the Roof, Giant and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button each winning three prizes.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2025

The younger girls, Allyssa and Katie, were spending the summer of 2013 doing opera and musicals, Allyssa performing in Fiddler on the Roof and Katie appearing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream- coat.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• ceiling
• house