What does "roof" mean?
The external covering at the top of a building.
Roof
/ɹuːf/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The external covering at the top of a building.
- Grammar: roof is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ceiling, abiding place, abode, address.
- Useful contrasts: expose, floor, floor of mouth.
- Usage evidence: We got our roof blown off in the gale.
How to use "roof"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "roof" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "roof" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "roof" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "roof" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "roof" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ceiling" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "roof", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The external covering at the top of a building.
"The roof was blown off by the tornado."
- 2 a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building wordnet
- 3 The top external level of a building.
"Let's go up to the roof."
- 4 protective covering on top of a motor vehicle wordnet
- 5 The upper part of a cavity.
"The palate is the roof of the mouth."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 an upper limit on what is allowed wordnet
- 7 The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.
- 8 the inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space wordnet
- 9 An overhanging rock wall.
- 10 A hat. archaic, slang
"Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but confessed that he had a hat in his hat-box; which was accordingly at once extracted from the hind-boot, and Tom equipped in his go-to-meeting roof, as his new friend called it."
Verb
- 1 To cover or furnish with a roof. transitive
"A trench about ten feet deep was dug in the ground and roofed over with sticks and earth so as to form a dark tunnel."
- 2 provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof wordnet
- 3 To traverse buildings by walking or climbing across their roofs.
- 4 To put into prison, to bird. slang, transitive
"Did you see them, David? I mean, did you see them looking at me? I-I'm walking out of the court, and everybody was practically – yeah, they were gawking. […] I mean, Noah roofed me, I proved it, end of story."
- 5 To shelter as if under a roof. transitive
"They reached him: the pieces of rock had roofed him over—he was without injury or scratch."
Proper Noun
- 1 A Chinese constellation located near Aquarius and Pegasus, one of the 28 lunar mansions and part of the larger Black Turtle.
- 2 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"We got our roof blown off in the gale."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "roof"?
Common synonyms include: ceiling, abiding place, abode, address, adobe house, ancestral halls.
How do you use "roof" in a sentence?
We got our roof blown off in the gale.
How do you pronounce "roof"?
Pronounced /ɹuːf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English rof, from Old English hrōf (“roof, ceiling; top, summit; heaven, sky”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōfą (“roof”). Cognate with Scots ruif (“roof, ceiling”), Dutch roef (“cabin on a boat”), Icelandic hróf (“shed”), Irish cró (“pen, barn, cabin”), Proto-Slavic *stropъ (“roof, ceiling”). Compare Faroese rógv (“something high up”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English rofen, roven (“to roof”), from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
Calque of Mandarin 危宿 (Wēixiù).
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, spelling variant of Rolfe. * As a German surname, from a personal name ultimately derived from Proto-West Germanic *hrōþi (“fame, glory, renown”); also Americanized from Ruff, itself shortened from Rudolf (and from the same root).