What does "eave" mean?

Alternative form of eaves (“the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building”)

What is a synonym for "eave"?

Common synonyms include: ceiling, housetop, lantern, overhead, penthouse, plafond.

//iːv// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Alternative form of eaves (“the underside of a roof that extends beyond the external walls of a building”) alt-of, alternative
"Features such as shutters, eave brackets, transoms, a wraparound porch, and a pergola all help establish the style of this home."

"I found a wasp nest on the eave of the roof."

A back-formation from eaves, from a misinterpretation of the -s ending as forming a plural.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.