Illustration of roof
- 1 gambrel
- 2 mansard
- 3 hip
- 4 lean-to
1
a(1)
: the cover of a building
(2)
: material used for a roof : roofing
b
: the roof of a dwelling conventionally designating the home itself
living under my roof [=in my house]
didn't have a roof over my head[=didn't have any place to live]
They all live under the same roof. [=in the same house]
3
a
: the vaulted upper boundary of the mouth
b
: a covering structure of any of various parts of the body
roof of the skull
4
: something suggesting a roof: such as
a
: a canopy of leaves and branches
b
: the top over the passenger section of a vehicle
roofed; roofing; roofs
1
a
: to cover with or as if with a roof
b
: to provide with a particular kind of roof or roofing
—often used in combination
slate-roofed houses
2
: to constitute a roof over
roofer
noun
Examples of roof in a Sentence
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
Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 29 May 2026
Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-story apartment block which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, tearing through a top-floor flat.
—George Calin, USA Today, 29 May 2026
Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Bill Dabney of Pasadena was one of the unlucky few who had roof turds on his guest house that led directly to a big cat encounter.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for roof
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
The drone hit the roof of a building in Galati, near the border with Ukraine, a Romanian defense ministry spokesperson told CNN affiliate Antena 3 CNN.
—Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 29 May 2026
Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-story apartment block which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, tearing through a top-floor flat.
—George Calin, USA Today, 29 May 2026
Verb
The power forward pulled the puck through Colorado defenseman Sam Malinski onto his backhand, then roofed the puck past Wedgewood to send T-Mobile Arena into a frenzy.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Bill Dabney of Pasadena was one of the unlucky few who had roof turds on his guest house that led directly to a big cat encounter.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for roof
Cite this Entry
“Roof.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roof. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
1
a
: the upper covering part of a building
b
: a place to live : home
a roof over one's head
2
: the upper boundary of the mouth
3
: something resembling a roof in form, position, or purpose
roof
2 of 2 verb1
: to cover with or as if with a roof
2
: to provide with roofing
roofer
noun
Medical Definition
plural roofs
ˈrüfs, ˈru̇fs also ˈrüvz, ˈru̇vz
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
roof of the skull
roof of the dental pulp chamber
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
