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roof

Syllabification: (roof)
Pronunciation: /ro͞of, ro͝of/

Translate roof | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of roof

noun (plural roofs)

  • the structure forming the upper covering of a building or vehicle.
  • the top inner surface of a covered area or space; the ceiling:the roof of the cave fell in
  • used to signify a house or other building, especially in the context of hospitality or shelter:helping those without a roof over their heads they slept under the same roof
  • (roof of the mouth) the palate.

verb

[with object] (usually be roofed)
  • cover with a roof:the yard had been roughly roofed over with corrugated iron
  • function as the roof of:fan vaults roof these magnificent buildings

Phrases

go through the roof

informal
  • 1(of prices or figures) reach extreme or unexpected heights.

hit the roof

informal suddenly become very angry.

raise the roof

see raise.

the roof of the world

a nickname given to the Himalayas.

Derivatives

roofless

adjective

Origin:

Old English hrōf, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse hróf 'boat shed', Dutch roef 'deckhouse'. English alone has the general sense 'covering of a house'; other Germanic languages use forms related to thatch

Spelling help

The plural of roof is roofs.

roof in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of roof in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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