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. hit the roof or go through the roof informal.
   1. to get extremely angry; become furious
   2. to rise or increase steeply
8. raise the roof
   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

Derived Forms

• ˈroofless, adjective
• ˈroofer, noun
• ˈroofˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• rooflike adjective
• re·roof verb (used with object)
• self-roofed adjective
• under·roof noun
• un·roofed adjective

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

In addition to the idiom beginning with roof , also see go through the roof ; hit the ceiling (roof) ; like a cat on hot bricks (a hot tin roof) ; raise the roof .

Example Sentences

"We had situations where he’d cling to lampposts, climb on the roof, and we’d have to restrain him several times a day."

From BBC

Spray foam insulation has been used to stop heat escaping from roofs, lofts and attics for decades and comes in two forms.

From BBC

When it was time for the raid, Mills, furnished with a walkie-talkie, mounted a nearby roof to keep an eye out as the others went through the tunnel and worked on breaking into the vault.

From BBC

"There's such a range of stuff now that people can essentially do all of their shopping under one roof," she added.

From BBC

In the background are exposed brick buildings with corrugated iron roofs, ploughed fields, mango trees and maize crops.

From BBC

Related Words

• ceiling
• house

What Is The Plural Of Roof?

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.