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

Charlton House in Greenwich, south-east London, was built in 1612 and repaired following damage caused in the Blitz, but a leaky roof is affecting its historic interior so it has been added to the register.

From BBC

"Why are sex and relationships such a taboo for disabled people? There is much more to us than just being able to eat and having a roof over our heads."

From BBC

The Conservative MP claimed the approach would "see our reliance on Chinese imports - a country which is 60% powered by coal - go through the roof".

From BBC

The train is also fitted with a cooling unit on the roof to regulate the batteries’ temperature, and the company has developed software that monitors and regulates the cells.

From BBC

It follows Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's pledge at Labour party conference that all veterans would be "a guaranteed roof over their head".

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.