The word roof plural

крыша, кровля, потолок, кров, покрывать, настилать крышу, крыть крышу

существительное ↓

глагол ↓

Словосочетания

the house’s oddly shaped roof — странная форма крыши дома  
pigeons perching on the roof — голуби, сидящие на крыше  
the metal framework of the roof — металлический каркас крыши  
the sound of rain on the roof — стук дождя по крыше  
the varying angles of roof slope — различные углы наклона крыши  
fence roof — навес  
high-pitched roof — высокая и крутая крыша  
to install a roof — устраивать крышу  
the roof is pitched — крыша слишком крута  
shingle / slate roof — шиферная крыша  
roof deck — настил крыши  
roof deflection — прогиб кровли  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

roofer  — кровельщик
roofing  — кровля, покрытие крыши, кровельные работы, кровельный материал
roofless  — без крыши, без крова, бездомный
unroof  — сносить крышу

Формы слова

verb
I/you/we/they: roof
he/she/it: roofs
ing ф. (present participle): roofing
2-я ф. (past tense): roofed
3-я ф. (past participle): roofed

noun
ед. ч.(singular): roof
мн. ч.(plural): roofs or rooves

English pluralization can be complicated. Not all nouns follow simple rules when transitioning from single to plural form.

Hoof, for instance, becomes hooves in the plural. On the other hand, spoof simply adds the plural -s suffix to become spoofs. Poof and poofs follow the same rule.

What about roof? Should it become rooves, like hooves? Or would it be better as roofs, like spoofs and poofs?

Both versions have historical precedent. Today, though, only one form is considered standard. If you don’t know whether to use rooves or roofs, continue reading to learn more about these confusing words.

What is the Difference Between Roofs and Rooves?

In this post, I will compare roofs vs. rooves and outline the correct plural form of roof. I will use several example sentences, so you can see the proper spelling in context.

Then, I will share a helpful memory trick that makes choosing either roofs or rooves much easier.

When to Use Roofs

What does roofs mean? Roofs is the standard plural form of the noun roof, which is a covering over a building. Throughout history, roofs have been constructed of thatch, clay, palm leaves, wood, and many other building materials.

The archetypical image of a roof is of a peaked structure that covers an entire building and slopes gracefully from a central high point to meet the walls on all sides. Not all roofs share this design, though. Many buildings are flat on top, and modern buildings are engineered in many creative ways to conserve energy and appear stylish.

Here are some sentences that contain the word roofs,

• The criminal escaped the police by leaping over the roofs of houses all the way down the block before disappearing.
• The fire spread quickly between the roofs of the wooden buildings until the whole town was in flames.

When to Use Rooves

What does rooves mean? Rooves is an incorrect pluralization of the word roof and should be avoided.

Roofs has been the standard form since at least the 18th century. The chart below shows the relative usage of rooves vs. roofs in English since 1800:

Today, the usage of rooves is so low as to approximate zero. Bryan Garner, in his book Garner’s Modern English Usage, estimates the disparity to be 535:1. In other words, there is only one correct plural form of roof—and it is roofs.

Trick to Remember the Difference

You should use roofs in all contexts. Rooves is always considered a spelling error and will only serve to distract your readers or cause them to question your credibility.

Since roofs is spelled with an F, like the word first, remember that roofs is the first word you should think of when you need a noun to refer to more than one roof.

Summary

Is it roofs or rooves? Only one of these words is considered a correct plural form of the word roof.

• Roofs is the correct plural form.
• Rooves is a spelling error that should be avoided.

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ɹuːf/, /ɹʊf/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹuf/
• (Inland Northern American) IPA^(key): /ɹʊf/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹuːf/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ɹuf/
• Rhymes: -ʊf, -uːf

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English rof, from Old English hrōf (“roof, ceiling; top, summit; heaven, sky”), from Proto-Germanic *hrōfą (“roof”).

Noun[edit]

roof (plural roofs or rooves)

1. (architecture) The external covering at the top of a building.

   The roof was blown off by the tornado.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients]‎^[1]:

     ‘Twas the house I’d seen the roof of from the beach.

   • 1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward, draft:

     The very first sound that you’ll hear on the roof
     (Provided there’s fog) will be Rudolph’s small hoof.
2. The top external level of a building.

   Let’s go up to the roof.

   • 1962, Gerry Goffin & al. (lyrics and music), “Up on the Roof”:

     When this old world starts getting me down
     And people are just too much for me to face,
     I climb way up to the top of the stairs
     And all my cares just drift right into space
     On the roof, it’s peaceful as can be
     And there, the world below can’t bother me…

3. The upper part of a cavity.

   The palate is the roof of the mouth.

   • 2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2-0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport‎^[2]:

     As Bent pulled away to the far post, Agbonlahor opted to go it alone, motoring past Gary Caldwell before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net.

4. (mining) The surface or bed of rock immediately overlying a bed of coal or a flat vein.
5. (climbing) An overhanging rock wall.

Synonyms[edit]

• (cover at top of building): rooftop, tect (obsolete, rare), thatch
• (in a cavity): ceiling

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English rofen, roven (“to roof”), from the noun (see above).

Verb[edit]

roof (third-person singular simple present roofs, present participle roofing, simple past and past participle roofed)

1. (transitive) To cover or furnish with a roof.
2. To traverse buildings by walking or climbing across their roofs.
3. (transitive, slang) To put into prison, to bird.

   • 1998 March 4, “Law and Disorder”, in Beverly Hills, 90210, season 08, episode 22:

     Did you see them, David? I mean, did you see them looking at me? I-I’m walking out of the court, and everybody was practically – yeah, they were gawking. […] I mean, Noah roofed me, I proved it, end of story.

   • 2000 January 1, Mr. Metaphor (lyrics), “Stupid”, in The Will Tell Compilation Vol. 1: Thats Right Inc., performed by Word A’ Mouth, Block McCloud and Mr. Metaphor:

     I’m open, hype off the chronic I was smoking, feeling zooted
     That Brooklyn shit got me stupid
     I’m loose, kid – that’s what the overproof did
     What the ruck you looking at, son? You’ll get roofed, kid!

   • 2012 November 15, “Brown Bag Wrap”, in Rare Chandeliers, performed by Action Bronson:

     Inhale the mystical, the blue shit
     See me on the stoop shit, act stupid at the park, the ball, get roofed
     Baby see the cops, the drugs, she boofed it
     Foie gras at every meal, that means I triple-goosed it

   • 2018 May 5, AM (lyrics), “Attempted 1.0”, performed by Skengdo & AM of 410:

     You don’t want war, you’re shook of it
     Hella man dash when their friend got roofed

4. (transitive) To shelter as if under a roof.

   • 1865, Thomas Greenbury, Pleasant Rambles Over Moors, Mountains, Mines, and Waterfalls‎^[3]:

     They reached him: the pieces of rock had roofed him over—he was without injury or scratch.

Derived terms[edit]

• roofer
• unroof

Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• Foor

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /roːf/
• Hyphenation: roof
• Rhymes: -oːf

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch roof, from Old Dutch *rōf, *rouf, from Proto-West Germanic *raub, from Proto-Germanic *raubaz. More at robe.

Noun[edit]

roof m (plural roven, diminutive roofje n)

1. robbery, robbing, banditry, rapine

Derived terms[edit]

• bankroof
• broodroof
• lijkroof
• roofdier
• roofridder
• rover

Descendants[edit]

• Negerhollands: roof

Verb[edit]

roof

1. first-person singular present indicative of roven
2. imperative of roven

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle Dutch rōve. Cognate with Old High German ruf (Luxembourgish Roff), Old Norse hrufa (English dandruff). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krewp-.

Noun[edit]

roof f (uncountable)

1. scab (on a wound)

   Synonyms: korst, wondkorst

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

roof

1. Alternative form of rof