Meaning & use
hipped roof
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Meanings
nouncountable
A roof whose surfaces all slope downward toward the walls, with no vertical end sections.
Grammar: Countable: say a hipped roof or two hipped roofs.
Patterns
- a hipped roof over something
- build something with a hipped roof
The cottage has a low hipped roof that sheds rain on all four sides.
Builders often choose a hipped roof because it stands up well to strong wind.
From the air you could see the hipped roof of the old barn, sloping evenly on every edge.
nouncountabletechnical
A roof shape of this kind used as a design feature in a building.
Grammar: Often used after a noun to describe a building: a house with a hipped roof.
Patterns
- a house with a hipped roof
- the hipped roof of a building
The architect drew a hipped roof to give the house a solid, balanced outline.
Many suburban homes in the 1920s were built with a hipped roof.
Word forms
| plural | hipped roofs |
|---|
Common combinations
- a low hipped roof
- The garage has a low hipped roof that hardly rises above the walls.
- a steep hipped roof
- A steep hipped roof keeps snow from piling up in winter.
- a hipped roof house
- They bought a hipped roof house near the river.
- cover something with a hipped roof
- The new pavilion is covered with a hipped roof of gray tiles.
- the slope of a hipped roof
- Rain runs quickly down the slope of a hipped roof.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hip roof
- The same roof shape; this shorter form is common in American building guides.
- pyramidal roof
- A special hipped roof whose four slopes meet at a single point, used on square towers.
- gable roof
- A different shape with two slopes and flat triangular ends; use it when the ends are vertical walls.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hipped roof or gable roof? hipped roof or hipped?
hipped roof vs gable roof
A gable roof has two sloping sides and two upright triangular ends; a hipped roof slopes on all sides and has no such ends.
hipped roof vs hipped
As a general adjective, hipped can also mean very interested in something or, informally, annoyed; only in roofing does it describe the roof shape.
Practice
Which sentence uses "hipped roof" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A hipped roof slopes on every side, so water drains in all directions. Option 1 describes a gable roof, option 2 describes a flat roof, and option 3 confuses the material with the shape.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hipped roof”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.