Noun
the roof of a car
The roof of the old barn collapsed.
He bit into a hot slice of pizza and burned the roof of his mouth. Verb
fed and roofed the emergency volunteers for a week
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Snowy roofs, mini holiday lights, bottle brush pine trees, and more adorn these precious houses.—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Nov. 2025 The Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, said the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun.—CBS News, 30 Nov. 2025
Verb
The convenient kit comes with floor and roofing materials, plus nails, screws, handles, door locks, and fixings, which means less time wasted running to the hardware store.—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2025 Later in the period, Kevin Fiala burned Erik Karlsson and scored a sensational goal, finishing off the play by roofing a shot into the net.—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for roof
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English hrōf; akin to Old Norse hrōf roof of a boathouse and perhaps to Old Church Slavic stropŭ roof
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
: the vaulted upper boundary of the mouth supported largely by the palatine bones and limited anteriorly by the dental lamina and posteriorly by the uvula and upper part of the fauces
2
: a covering structure of any of various parts of the body other than the mouth
Share