a roof over one's head
33
3.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
un techo
- Hey, do you want a roof over your head tonight?
- keep a roof over one's head
- provide a roof over one's head
- put a roof over one's head
Examples
-
After losing his job, finding a roof over his head became his top priority.
-
We are lucky to have a roof over our heads.
Fiction book (1999) -
So I have to be the one to keep a roof over his head?
-
At least it's a roof over my head.
-
I know how it feels, not to have a roof over your head.
-
You have food, wood, and a roof over your head.
Fiction book (1994) -
At least she had a roof over her head.
Fiction book (2002) -
My parents could barely afford to put a roof over my head.
-
Not when they so desperately needed money and a roof over their heads.
Academic text (2016) -
This is affordable housing for Angelenos desperate for a roof over their heads.
Synonyms
658
1.0
Buildings where people live, like houses or flats
344
1.1
A building that gives temporary housing and protection for homeless people
135
5.0
A place where people stay, like a hotel or room
6
4.2
The act of living in a place as a home
1
3.3
Places like rooms or buildings where people live
1
2.9
A place to live or stay
Antonyms
How Comfortable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a place to live/shelter' is directly derivable from the literal image of having a 'roof' positioned 'over one's head' — knowing the constituents allows learners to infer shelter. This spatial/compositional logic is common across many languages and follows ordinary English noun phrase composition, so a B1 learner who knows the words should grasp the expression.
Etymology
A roof over one's head comes from the simple image of a roof over a person's head, keeping rain and cold away. That's why it now means 'a place to live' or 'shelter'.