Meaning & use
eave
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
The lower edge of a roof that sticks out beyond the wall of a building.
Grammar: Usually used in the plural 'eaves' even for one edge; the singular 'eave' is rare and mostly technical.
Patterns
- the eaves of a house
- under the eaves
Rain dripped from the eaves onto the path.
Birds had built a nest under the eaves of the old barn.
He stood in the shadow of the eaves, waiting for the storm to pass.
Word forms
| plural | eaves |
|---|
Common combinations
- under the eaves
- We sat under the eaves while the rain poured down.
- the eaves of a roof
- Snow gathered along the eaves of the roof.
- drip from the eaves
- Water dripped steadily from the eaves.
- hang from the eaves
- Icicles hung from the eaves all winter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overhang
- Overhang is a more general word for any part that sticks out, while eave refers specifically to the roof edge.
Word family
- eavesdrop verb
- To listen secretly to a private conversation, originally by standing under the eaves of a house.
Commonly confused: eave or eve?
eave vs eve
Eve means the day or evening before an event (like New Year's Eve), while eave is the edge of a roof. They sound the same but are unrelated.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The plural 'eaves' is the standard form for this part of a roof, so option B is correct. Option A uses the rare singular 'eave', which sounds unnatural in everyday speech. Option C misspells it as 'eves', and option D has incorrect possessive grammar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.