steeple

CEFRB1

/ˈsti(ː)pəl/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A tall pointed structure on top of a church.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A high headdress of the 14th century.

Examples

  • The church's steeple is beginning to crumble with age.

  • The steeple of the cathedral of Seville used to be a minaret.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4

Also pronounced

  • [ˈsti(ː)pɫ̩]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A spire.

  2. A tall tower, often on a church, normally topped with a spire.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To form something into the shape of a steeple.

More examples

In context

  • He steepled his fingers as he considered the question.

  • So, the woman and the child had gone by, and gone on, and five had sounded from the steeples.

  • 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.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The old church's tall blank could be seen from many miles away.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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”).