roofs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of roof.

   The red tile roofs gave the old town its distinctive look.

   Engineers inspected the flat roofs for signs of water damage.

   Note

   A plural that keeps its f: Middle English rofes simply added -s to roof without voicing the consonant, unlike the pattern that gives knives and wolves their v. The rival rooves lost its place as the standard plural in the early 17th century, so roofs is the form to write. It serves every sense of the noun, from the roofs of houses to the rock a miner works beneath.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of roof.

   The contractor roofs each new building before the winter rains arrive.

   A dense canopy roofs the forest floor, blocking out most of the sunlight.

   Note

   The verb form shares its spelling with the plural noun, so only the sentence tells them apart: a crew roofs a house, but the houses have roofs. Most uses are transitive. The verb roofs something, whether the covering is real shingle or a figurative shelter. The slang meaning, to put someone in prison, takes an object too.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2