roof

/ruf/
/ruf/
IPA guide

Other forms: roofs; roofed; roofing

The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire! Just kidding. That’s from an ‘80s rap song and it means a party is rocking. A roof is a building's cover. It keeps the rain out of your house party.

The roof on your house or apartment building keeps rain, snow, and harsh sunlight out. Vehicles have roofs too: "I could hear sleet hitting the car roof," and so do enclosed spaces like porches or caves. You might even refer to the fact that you have a home as "having a roof over my head." As a verb, to roof means "to install a roof." When you "raise the roof," you make a lot of festive noise.

Definitions of roof
  1. noun
    a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 21 types...
    hide 21 types...
    curb roof
    a roof with two or more slopes on each side of the ridge
    dome
    a hemispherical roof
    gable roof, saddle roof, saddleback, saddleback roof
    a double sloping roof with a ridge and gables at each end
    hip roof, hipped roof
    a roof having sloping ends as well as sloping sides
    housetop
    the roof of a house
    slate roof
    a roof covered with slate
    sunroof, sunshine-roof
    an automobile roof having a sliding or raisable panel
    thatch, thatched roof
    a house roof made with a plant material (as straw)
    tile roof
    a roof made of fired clay tiles
    vault
    an arched brick or stone ceiling or roof
    astrodome
    a transparent dome on top of an airplane where the navigator can make celestial observations
    barrel vault
    the simplest form of vault; a single continuous arch
    cupola
    a roof in the form of a dome
    gambrel, gambrel roof
    a gable roof with two slopes on each side and the lower slope being steeper
    geodesic dome
    a lightweight dome constructed of interlocking polygons; invented by R. Buckminster Fuller
    groined vault
    two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles
    mansard, mansard roof
    a hip roof having two slopes on each side
    onion dome
    a dome that is shaped like a bulb; characteristic of Russian and Byzantine church architecture
    pressure dome
    a dome-shaped building that is pressurized
    ribbed vault
    vault that resembles a groined vault but has ribbed arches
    whispering dome, whispering gallery
    a space beneath a dome or arch in which sounds produced at certain points are clearly audible at certain distant points
    type of:
    protection, protective cover, protective covering
    a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury
  2. noun
    protective covering on top of a motor vehicle
    see moresee less
    types:
    hood
    the folding roof of a carriage
    calash, calash top, caleche
    the folding hood of a horse-drawn carriage
    type of:
    protection, protective cover, protective covering
    a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury
  3. noun
    the inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space
    “the roof of the cave was very high”
    “I could see the roof of the bear's mouth”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    cover, covering, natural covering
    a natural object that covers or envelops
  4. noun
    an upper limit on what is allowed
    “there was a roof on salaries”
    synonyms: cap, ceiling
    see moresee less
    types:
    glass ceiling
    a ceiling based on attitudinal or organizational bias in the work force that prevents minorities and women from advancing to leadership positions
    type of:
    control
    the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc.
  5. verb
    provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof
    see moresee less
    types:
    thatch
    cover with thatch
    shingle
    cover with shingles
    slate
    cover with slate
    type of:
    cover
    provide with a covering or cause to be covered
Pronunciation
US
/ruf/
UK
/ruf/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘roof'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of gold-punch.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family