ROOF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does roof mean? 

• ROOF (noun)
  The noun ROOF has 4 senses:

1. a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building

2. protective covering on top of a motor vehicle

3. the inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space

4. an upper limit on what is allowed

  Familiarity information: ROOF used as a noun is uncommon.

• ROOF (verb)
  The verb ROOF has 1 sense:

1. provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof

  Familiarity information: ROOF used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROOF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("roof" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Meronyms (parts of "roof"):

roof peak (the highest point of a roof)

eaves (the overhang at the lower edge of a roof)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "roof"):

curb roof (a roof with two or more slopes on each side of the ridge)

vault (an arched brick or stone ceiling or roof)

tile roof (a roof made of fired clay tiles)

thatch; thatched roof (a house roof made with a plant material (as straw))

sunroof; sunshine-roof (an automobile roof having a sliding or raisable panel)

slate roof (a roof covered with slate)

housetop (the roof of a house)

hip roof; hipped roof (a roof having sloping ends as well as sloping sides)

gable roof; saddle roof; saddleback; saddleback roof (a double sloping roof with a ridge and gables at each end)

dome (a hemispherical roof)

Holonyms ("roof" is a part of...):

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

Derivation:

roof (provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Protective covering on top of a motor vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("roof" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "roof"):

hood (the folding roof of a carriage)

Holonyms ("roof" is a part of...):

autobus; bus; charabanc; coach; double-decker; jitney; motorbus; motorcoach; omnibus; passenger vehicle (a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport)

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

motortruck; truck (an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

I could see the roof of the bear's mouth

Hypernyms ("roof" is a kind of...):

cover; covering; natural covering (a natural object that covers or envelops)

Holonyms ("roof" is a part of...):

cave (a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An upper limit on what is allowed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

cap; ceiling; roof

Context example:

they established a cap for prices

Hypernyms ("roof" is a kind of...):

control (the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "roof"):

glass ceiling (a ceiling based on attitudinal or organizational bias in the work force that prevents minorities and women from advancing to leadership positions)

• ROOF (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they roof    ... he / she / it roofs   
Past simple: roofed   
Past participle: roofed   
-ing form: roofing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "roof" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "roof"):

thatch (cover with thatch)

shingle (cover with shingles)

slate (cover with slate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

roof (a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building)

roofer (a craftsman who lays or repairs roofs)

roofing (the craft of a roofer)

 Context examples 

We were surveying the completed seal-skin roof.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

We live very quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts, if we do nothing more.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You may well ask me why, under these circumstances, I still kept James under my roof.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I should have gone to bed with a sore heart indeed under any other roof but that which sheltered little Em'ly's head.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The cell was of iron, the floor, the walls, the roof.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Having travelled about three miles, we came to a long kind of building, made of timber stuck in the ground, and wattled across; the roof was low and covered with straw.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

It might be an evil start to come to his door so late and claim the shelter of his roof.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Now, suppose that a train halted under such a window, would there be any difficulty in laying a body upon the roof?

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sight of him was like a whiff of South Down air coming into that low-roofed, oil-smelling room, and I ran forward to shake him by the hand.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

One of two cranial bones that by their union form the sides and roof of the skull.

(Parietal Bone, NCI Thesaurus)