roof

[ roof, roo f ]

/ ruf, rʊf /

noun, plural roofs.

the external upper covering of a house or other building.

a frame for supporting this: an open-timbered roof.

the highest part or summit: The Himalayas are the roof of the world.

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.

a house.

Mining. the rock immediately above a horizontal mineral deposit.

verb (used with object)

to provide or cover with a roof.

Nearby words

Idioms

go through the roof,

to increase beyond all expectations: Foreign travel may very well go through the roof next year.
Also hit the roof,Informal.to lose one's temper; become extremely angry.

raise the roof, Informal.

to create a loud noise: The applause raised the roof.
to complain or protest noisily: He'll raise the roof when he sees that bill.

Origin of roof

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

Related forms

roof·like, adjectivere·roof, verb (used with object)self-roofed, adjectiveun·der·roof, noun

un·roofed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for roofs

Rooftop solar—individual homeowners putting generating systems on their roofs—is also booming in Arizona.
Panel Discussion|The Daily Beast|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“It pretty much looks like taking a central solar plant and allocating it across 3,000 roofs,” said Rumido.
Panel Discussion|The Daily Beast|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I know the poorer neighborhoods where the people slept on the roofs and would look at us in awe when we asked for their help.
Mosul's Civilization and Its Discontents|Michael Carson|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chili peppers were everywhere, drying on mats, on roofs, and in fields.
A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma|Katya Cengel|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Homeowners may want them on their roofs—but not for $30,000 upfront.
Solar Panels Now Being Offered as a Prebuilt Feature in California|Daniel Gross|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I repaired the carts; made paths in the garden, dug the beds, painted the roofs.
The House with the Mezzanine and Other Stories|Anton Tchekoff
The roofs of their houses are pointed too at the top, and are turned up at the edges.
The Pharaoh and the Priest|Alexander Glovatski
The roofs project far over the eaves, and are held down by rows of heavy stones to keep them from blowing off in wind-storms.
Glimpses of Three Coasts|Helen Hunt Jackson
They sounded like thousands of whirring wheels, and they dropped on the roofs with a noise like rain.
Trooper Bluegum at the Dardanelles|Oliver Hogue
Here and there a village abruptly spread out its roofs, which rotated on the axis of a spire.
Sacrifice|Stephen French Whitman

British Dictionary definitions for roofs

roof

/ (ruːf) /

noun plural roofs (ruːfs, ruːvz)

a structure that covers or forms the top of a building
(in combination)the rooftop
(as modifier)a roof garden

the top covering of a vehicle, oven, or other structurethe roof of a car

anatomy any structure that covers an organ or partthe roof of the mouth

a highest or topmost point or partMount Everest is the roof of the world

a house or other sheltera poor man's roof

mountaineering the underside of a projecting overhang

hit the roof or go through the roof informal

to get extremely angry; become furious
to rise or increase steeply

raise the roof

to create a boisterous disturbance
to react or protest heatedly

verb

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

Derived Formsroofer, nounroofless, adjectiverooflike, adjective

Word Origin for roof

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

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

Word Origin and History for roofs

roof

Old English hrof "roof, ceiling, top, summit; heaven, sky," also figuratively, "highest point of something," from Proto-Germanic *khrofam (cf. Old Frisian rhoof "roof," Middle Dutch roof, rouf "cover, roof," Dutch roef "deckhouse, cabin, coffin-lid," Middle High German rof "penthouse," Old Norse hrof "boat shed").

No apparent connections outside Germanic. "English alone has retained the word in a general sense, for which the other languages use forms corresponding to OE. þæc thatch" [OED]. Roof of the mouth is from late Old English. Raise the roof "create an uproar" is attested from 1860, originally in U.S. Southern dialect.

roof

early 15c., from roof (n.). Related: Roofed; roofing.

Medicine definitions for roofs

roof

[ rōōf, ruf ]

n.

The upper surface of an anatomical structure, especially one having a vaulted inner structure.

Idioms and Phrases with roofs

roof

In addition to the idiom beginning with roof

roof over one's head, a

also see:

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

roof

noun, plural roofs.

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of roof

Examples from the Web for roofs

roof

noun plural roofs (ruːfs, ruːvz)

verb

Word Origin for roof

roof

roof

roof

n.

roof