Steeple Meaning
/ˈsti(ː)pəl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA tall tower, often on a church, normally topped with a spire.
nounA spire.
Sentence Examples
The church's steeple is beginning to crumble with age.
The steeple of the cathedral of Seville used to be a minaret.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old church's tall ____ could be seen from many miles away.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall church ____ could be seen from miles away, acting as a landmark for travelers in the area.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English stepel, from Old English stīpel, stȳpel, stīepel (“tower, steeple”), from Proto-West Germanic *staupil, from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (“that which is steep, tower, steeple”), equivalent to steep + -le. Cognate with Old Norse stǫpull (“tower, steeple”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Above the session-room of the Council is the steeple, and in the steeple is the belfry, where exists, and has existed time out of mind, the pride and wonder of the village—the great clock of the borough of Vondervotteimittiss."
— 1839, Edgar Allan Poe, The Devil in the Belfry:
"So, the woman and the child had gone by, and gone on, and five had sounded from the steeples."
— 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Little Dorrit’s Party”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, 1st book (Poverty), pages 126–127:
"Mr. Ziegler is now angled forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled just under his nose."
— 2005, David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays, New York: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 341:
"Mr Hatfield steepled his fingers and gazed at her fixedly and took a long contemplative breath."
— 1992, James Herriot, Every Living Thing, →ISBN:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old church's tall ____ could be seen from many miles away.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall church ____ could be seen from miles away, acting as a landmark for travelers in the area.