Spire Meaning
/spaɪə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe stalk or stem of a plant.
nounA young shoot of a plant; a spear.
Sentence Examples
A church spire could be seen in the distance.
To the west a dark church spire rose up against a marigold sky.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The church's tall ____ pointed toward the sky above the village.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall church ____ could be seen from miles away, towering high above all the other buildings in the village.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English spire, spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīrō, *spīrǭ (“peak; point; tip; stalk”). Cognate with Dutch spier, German Low German Spier, German Spier, Spiere, Danish spir, Norwegian spir and spire, Swedish spira, Icelandic spíra.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Clara had pulled a button from a hollyhock spire, and was breaking it to get the seeds."
— 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 12”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
"A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky."
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
"This park’s strange and beautiful rock formations were formed by the Yellowstone River and various streams that have cut through the rock over millions of years, carving out hoodoos, spires and caprocks. The name Makoshika comes from a Lakota word for badlands."
— 2018 July 17, Autumn Spanne, “Check out these crazy rock formations across the United States”, in CNN:
"the spire and top of praises"
— c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ix]:
"In gentle Ladies breste and bounteous race / Of woman kind it fayrest Flowre doth spyre, / And beareth fruit of honour and all chast desyre."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The church's tall ____ pointed toward the sky above the village.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall church ____ could be seen from miles away, towering high above all the other buildings in the village.