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🏠 Top covering 👄 Top inside surface ⬆️ Upper limit 🔨 To cover
roof

roof

9 6.7
An upper limit on how much money can be used or paid
  • noun
  • /ruːf/
: techo
  • Due to rising costs, the monthly food expenses reached a roof that was hard to manage.

Examples

  • The company's expenses went well above the budget ceiling, reaching a roof that exceeded expectations.

  • So my rage was through the roof because the school didn't let me know.

  • Everything is through the roof right now.

  • And suddenly our sales went through the roof and we went monthly.

  • Our property values were going to go through the roof.

    Jack Lyon: Veterans Serving Veterans (2013)

  • I imagine my food bill will be through the roof because teenage boys eat so much.

  • Ratings are through the roof.

    The Substance (2024)

  • Your approval ratings will go through the roof.

    The Pelican Brief (1993)

  • I mean, if gold goes through the roof, they're going to do very well.

  • Biocyte stock is just a few weeks away from going through the roof.

    Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Synonyms

cap
vsroof
173 3.3

A maximum limit on money or people allowed

is broader not limited to financial amounts or counts
ceiling
vsroof
141 3.7

An upper limit on the amount or number allowed

is the common everyday word for the same maximum
upper limit
vsroof
9 3.2

The highest allowed amount or value of something

is a more general phrase used in many contexts
budget constraint
vsroof
  • Specialized
5 4.0

A limit on how much money you can spend

is a general maximum rather than a restriction tied to finances

Antonyms

minimum
231 1.6

The smallest amount or number allowed

Idioms

roof over someone's head
45 2.9

A place to live or stay

under one roof
16 3.1

In the same building where people or things are together

to hit the roof
  • Informal
4 6.7

To suddenly become very angry

to raise the roof
  • Informal
4 8.0

Get very angry and shout loudly

to shot through the roof
  • Informal
2 5.7

To rise very quickly to a much higher level

cat on a hot tin roof
  • Informal
1 9.6

Nervous and unable to stay still

a roof over one's head
  • Informal
1 3.2

A place to live, like a house or flat that keeps you dry and safe

to fix the roof while the sun is shining
  • Informal
1 6.5

Take action now while things are good

to burn the roof down
  • Informal
8.7

Make a party very lively and exciting

burning the roof
  • Slang
9.9

To have a wild, loud party with dancing and music

like a cat on a hot tin roof
9.9

Very nervous and unable to stay still because of worry or excitement

Compounds

thatched roof
5 4.6

A roof made of dried plants like straw or reeds used on old houses

tile roof
4 3.2

A roof covered with rows of clay tiles that overlap

roof garden
3 3.5

A garden on the flat roof of a building where people grow plants or relax

roof rack
2 3.1

A frame attached to a car roof for carrying luggage and bikes

slate roof
2 3.9

A roof covered with thin, flat pieces of stone

roof rat
1 7.4

A small rat that lives in roofs or attics

mansard roof
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope steeper than the upper

roof of the mouth
  • Specialized
1 3.7

The top inside surface of the mouth that separates it from the nose

gable roof
1 4.6

A roof with two sloping sides that meet at the top, making a triangle at each end

hip roof
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A roof with all sides sloping down to the walls

roof peak
1 3.4

The highest point where two sloping sides of a roof meet

hipped roof
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A roof that slopes down on all four sides toward the walls

gambrel roof
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope steeper

French roof
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A roof with very steep sides and a flat top that gives extra attic space

roof tree
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A strong beam that supports a roof or a tree growing high above a building

hurricane roof
  • Archaic
1 8.5

The top open deck on a passenger ship exposed to the weather

curb roof
  • Specialized
8.8

A roof with two slopes on each side, a steeper lower slope and a gentler upper slope

roof mushroom
  • Specialized
9.8

A mushroom with a pointed cap like a house roof that grows in damp places in early summer

roof rabbit
  • Informal
9.9

A playful name for a small rabbit seen on rooftops in cities

saddle roof
  • Specialized
6.7

A roof with two sloping sides that meet at a top ridge

saddleback roof
  • Specialized
8.0

A roof with two sloping sides that meet at a ridge and have a triangular wall at each end

sunshine-roof
  • UK
6.0

A panel in a car roof that opens to let in air and sunlight

How High

maximum
73 2.1
roof
9 6.7
ceiling
141 3.7
limit
160 1.4

Surface Forms

roof singular
roofs plural

Etymology

Roof is often used as a picture for a 'top' limit, like the word 'ceiling', so when people set a roof on salaries or spending they mean a maximum you should not go above.