Library / English Dictionary

ROOF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (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"):

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

roof peak (the highest point of a roof)

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

vault (an arched brick or stone ceiling or roof)

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

dome (a hemispherical roof)

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

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

housetop (the roof of a house)

slate roof (a roof covered with slate)

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

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

tile roof (a roof made of fired clay tiles)

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:

An upper limit on what is allowed

Example:

they established a cap for prices

Synonyms:

cap; ceiling; roof

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space

Example:

I could see the roof of the bear's mouth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

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)

 II. (verb) 

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Then the bird came flying towards the house and settled on the roof.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When they do occur inside the mouth, it is usually on the gums or the roof of the mouth.

(Cold Sores, NIH)

This bone is positioned at the anterior part of the cranium, sitting between the two orbits, at the roof of the nose.

(Ethmoid Bone, NCI Thesaurus)

The roof of the oral cavity.

(Palate, NCI Thesaurus)

A bone of the skull forming the forehead, root of the nose and the roof of both orbits.

(Frontal Bone, NCI Thesaurus)

You know he thinks that wine should be used only in illness, and Mother says that neither she nor her daughters will ever offer it to any young man under her roof.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Then, and then only, under such a roof, I might perhaps be as happy at Combe as I have been at Barton.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I witnessed, and several more witnessed, Mr. Rochester ascend through the sky-light on to the roof; we heard him call 'Bertha!'

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Then, climbing on the roof, he had with his own hand bent and run up the colours.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Martin went up through the roof, clutching at manuscripts, so that by the time he came down he had a large armful.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)