roof

[roof, roof]

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.

roof

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roof¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of roof¹

Old English hrōf ; related to Middle Dutch, Old Norse hrōf

Idioms and Phrases

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.

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

Example Sentences

He shared photographs from Maslova Pristan showing a sports centre with its roof and walls blown apart, and said rescue workers were clearing debris and assessing the damage.

From BBC

It's an idyllic story-book image of a house – small and neat, with a sloping red tile roof.

From BBC

Because the home had a complex roof and an accessible attic, Warwas then transformed the attic into a loft that Puleo uses as his main bedroom.

From Los Angeles Times

Outside, its low-sloped roof, wide eaves, textured wood and brick surfaces, and its shaded porch set behind broad overhangs are welcoming and human scaled.

From Los Angeles Times

The project aims to promote medical tourism in Macau, create jobs and bring healthcare and leisure under one roof, said the resort chain's chief executive Lawrence Ho.

From BBC

Related Words

• ceiling 
• house 

When To Use

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.