What does eave mean?
An eave is the lower edge of a roof that projects beyond the face of a building's wall. This overhang serves a practical purpose: it channels rainwater clear of the walls and foundations, protecting them from moisture damage, and can provide shade or shelter beneath its edge. In ordinary speech the word almost always appears in its plural form, 'eaves' — as in birds nesting under the eaves — while the singular 'eave' is relatively uncommon. Eaves are a familiar feature of pitched-roof architecture across British and American English alike, and they carry a homely, rustic connotation, evoking swallows' nests, hanging icicles, and rain dripping from a cottage roof. The word is historically significant as well: 'eavesdrop' derives from it, originally meaning to stand within the drip of water falling from the eaves in order to listen secretly at a window. For writers, 'eave' offers precise architectural vocabulary where vaguer terms like 'roof edge' would do.
nounThe edge of a roof that overhangs the walls of a building, typically directing rainwater away from the structure. The word is most often used in its plural form 'eaves', with the singular 'eave' being comparatively rare.
- The lower, overhanging edge of a pitched roof that projects beyond the wall of a building.
"Swallows nested under the eave of the old barn."
"Rainwater dripped steadily from the eave onto the stone step below."
"A row of icicles hung from the eave like crystal daggers."
'Eaves' functions as a plural noun and is by far the more common form; it can take either a plural verb ('the eaves are leaking') or, occasionally when treated as a single architectural feature, a singular one, though the plural verb is standard.
"The eaves of the farmhouse were lined with swallow nests."
An 'eave' is so rarely spoken of alone that many people don't know it has a singular form at all — and it's also the ancestor of 'eavesdropping', literally hiding in the water dripping from a roof's edge.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eave
'Eave' descends from Old English 'efes', meaning the edge or border of a roof, which itself traces back to Proto-Germanic roots related to the notion of an edge or overhang. Cognates appear in other Germanic languages, such as Old High German 'obsa'. The word was originally collective in sense, and English settled on treating it as a plural ('eaves') with a back-formed singular ('eave'). It also gave rise to the verb-derived noun 'eavesdropping', from the practice of standing under the eaves to overhear conversations inside.
Related word forms
How eave is actually used
The plural 'eaves' is far more common than the singular 'eave' in everyday usage; speakers typically refer to 'the eaves' even when describing a single continuous overhang on one side of a building. The word is neutral in register and appears in both everyday and architectural contexts.
Easily confused with eave
'Eve' is the day or period before an event (or the first woman in Genesis), while 'eave' refers to the overhanging edge of a roof.
'Eaves' is the standard plural form used for all instances, while 'eave' is the rare singular referring to just one overhanging edge.