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
The match was played under Arthur Ashe Stadium's closed roof due to rain, creating windless conditions that favored both players' power-hitting styles.—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025 However, the better individual homes are hardened with flame-resistant siding, roofs, windows and vents, and flammable surrounding items like vegetation, fences and sheds between houses are reduced, the less likely fire will spread from building to building, the study found.—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
The cabin interior offers a peak height of 45 in (115 cm), and the trailer stands at 63 in (160 cm) from ground to roof.—New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2025 Lofoten brings red-roofed rorbuer cabins, sea eagles and jagged peaks that look hand-drawn.—Jill Schildhouse, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 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