ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Spire

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /spaɪə/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Spire is a noun meaning (now rare) The stalk or stem of a plant.

Meaning

(now rare) The stalk or stem of a plant.

More Meanings

  1. A young shoot of a plant; a spear.
  2. Any of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges, such as the marram, the reed canary-grass, etc.
  3. A sharp or tapering point.
  4. The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit.
  5. (mining) A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the charge in blasting.
  6. (of a seed, plant etc.) to sprout, to send forth the early shoots of growth; to germinate.
  7. (architecture) A tapering structure built on a roof or tower, especially as one of the central architectural features of a church or cathedral roof.

Example Sentences

the spire and top of praises
The spire of the church rose high above the town.
A dragon's fiery form bely'd the god: Sublime on radiant spires he rode.
Clara had pulled a button from a hollyhock spire, and was breaking it to get the seeds.

Word Forms

Synonyms for spire

Depending on context, synonyms include steeple.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include steeple, spit, spike, broach, arrowhead, coil.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.