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
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Noun
The curious boys climbed onto the roof of their home for a better look, but climbed back down when scolded by their grandmother.—
Rina Nakano,
CBS News,
7 Aug. 2026 In June, its day center sustained damages from a storm that hit Charlotte, with the roof collapsing in the center’s dining room.—
Zaire Breedlove
august 7,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Aug. 2026
Verb
Problems like peeling paint, roof damage or faulty wiring can hold up closing if the seller isn’t willing to fix them.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
31 July 2026 Some build nests underground in grassy areas or dense vegetation, while others look for openings in trees, wall voids, eaves, and roof overhangs, says Jim McHale, president of JP McHale Pest Management.—
Olivia McIntosh,
Martha Stewart,
19 July 2026 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