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
Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026
No one was injured, though firefighters rescued one person from the roof.
—Robert A. Cronkleton
march 30, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Mark Dee
march 31, Idaho Statesman, 31 Mar. 2026
In overtime with time winding down, Holloway picked up a loose puck to the left of the Sharks’ net, skated toward the crease in front of a trailing Celebrini, and beat goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, roofing a backhand shot to send San Jose to its sixth straight loss (0-5-1).
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 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
At another house, the cluster munition came through the roof and into the kitchen.
—Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026
No one was injured, though firefighters rescued one person from the roof.
—Robert A. Cronkleton
march 30, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
But Norway and roof rats have existed outside state code for the simple reason that they weren’t known to be in the state.
—Mark Dee
march 31, Idaho Statesman, 31 Mar. 2026
In overtime with time winding down, Holloway picked up a loose puck to the left of the Sharks’ net, skated toward the crease in front of a trailing Celebrini, and beat goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, roofing a backhand shot to send San Jose to its sixth straight loss (0-5-1).
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 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 1 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
