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
Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2026
Redneck points out that it's heightened the XL's front wall by 11 inches (28 cm) as compared to older Freedom models, slacking up the angle of the roof to adjust for it.
—New Atlas, 13 Apr. 2026
Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
What started as a productivity tool — keeping tech workers on-site for lunch — and later morphed into a recruitment tool for employers, is now pitching itself as an amenity on par with lounges, gyms and roof decks in service of the back-to-office movement.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
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
Hail the size of golf balls or even baseballs is the biggest concern, which could dent cars, shatter windshields and damage roofs.
—Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2026
Redneck points out that it's heightened the XL's front wall by 11 inches (28 cm) as compared to older Freedom models, slacking up the angle of the roof to adjust for it.
—New Atlas, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
But Kreider was able to direct a pass to Carlsson, who carried the puck into the Sharks’ zone, danced past winger Ty Dellandrea, and roofed a shot past Askarov.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
What started as a productivity tool — keeping tech workers on-site for lunch — and later morphed into a recruitment tool for employers, is now pitching itself as an amenity on par with lounges, gyms and roof decks in service of the back-to-office movement.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 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 16 Apr. 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
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