roof

[ roof, roof ]
See synonyms for: roofroofedroofing on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural roofs.
  1. the external upper covering of a house or other building.

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

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

  2. 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.

  3. a house.

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

verb (used with object)
  1. to provide or cover with a roof.

Idioms about roof

  1. 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.

  2. 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

1
before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English hrōf; cognate with Dutch roef cover, cabin, Old Norse hrōf

Other words from roof

  • rooflike, adjective
  • re·roof, verb (used with object)
  • self-roofed, adjective
  • un·der·roof, noun
  • un·roofed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use roof in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for roof

roof

/ (ruːf) /


nounplural roofs (ruːfs, ruːvz)
    • a structure that covers or forms the top of a building

    • (in combination): the rooftop

    • (as modifier): a roof garden

  1. the top covering of a vehicle, oven, or other structure: the roof of a car

  1. anatomy any structure that covers an organ or part: the roof of the mouth

  2. a highest or topmost point or part: Mount Everest is the roof of the world

  3. a house or other shelter: a poor man's roof

  4. mountaineering the underside of a projecting overhang

  5. hit the roof or go through the roof informal

    • to get extremely angry; become furious

    • to rise or increase steeply

  6. raise the roof

    • to create a boisterous disturbance

    • to react or protest heatedly

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

Origin of roof

1
Old English hrōf; related to Middle Dutch, Old Norse hrōf

Derived forms of roof

  • roofer, noun
  • roofless, adjective
  • rooflike, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with roof

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

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.