1. one of the sloping wooden beams that support a roof

Examples

• The carpenter installed new rafters to support the heavy tile roof.
• Old wooden rafters were visible in the attic of the farmhouse.
• The storm damaged several rafters on the barn’s north side.
• We hung Christmas lights from the exposed rafters in the cabin.
• The architect specified steel rafters for the modern building design.
• Bats had made their home among the rafters in the old church.