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
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
Aerial footage showed the destruction wrought by the twister, with roofs ripped off buildings, some of them reduced to rubble.
—CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
Josh Yohe, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Walls crumble, roofs collapse, and greenery reclaims them.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roof
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
In the six-month-long outdoor study conducted on the roof of the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, dew could be collected over 32 percent of the year and so could provide a sustainable and predictable supply of water even in periods with no rain.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2025
Aerial footage showed the destruction wrought by the twister, with roofs ripped off buildings, some of them reduced to rubble.
—CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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
Walls crumble, roofs collapse, and greenery reclaims them.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roof
Cite this Entry
“Roof.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roof. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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
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