spire

¹ American  

[spahy^uhr] / spaɪər /

noun

1. a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc.

2. a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple.

3. a tapering, pointed part of something; a tall, sharp-pointed summit, peak, or the like.

   the distant spires of the mountains.

4. the highest point or summit of something.

   the spire of a hill;

   the spire of one's profession.

5. a sprout or shoot of a plant, as an acrospire of grain or a blade or spear of grass.

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verb (used without object)

spired, spiring

1. to shoot or rise into spirelike form; rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire.

spire ² American  

[spahy^uhr] / spaɪər /

noun

1. a coil or spiral.

2. one of the series of convolutions of a coil or spiral.

3. Zoology. the upper, convoluted part of a spiral shell, above the aperture.

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spire ¹ British  

/ spaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: steeple.  a tall structure that tapers upwards to a point, esp one on a tower or roof or one that forms the upper part of a steeple

2. a slender tapering shoot or stem, such as a blade of grass

3. the apical part of any tapering formation; summit

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verb

1. (intr) to assume the shape of a spire; point up

2. (tr) to furnish with a spire or spires

spire ² British  

/ spaɪə, spaɪəˈrɪfərəs /

noun

1. any of the coils or turns in a spiral structure

2. the apical part of a spiral shell

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spiry
  adjective
• unspiring
  adjective
• spiriferous
  adjective
• spireless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of spire¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English spir(e), Old English spīr “spike (of grain), blade (of grass)”; cognate with Middle Dutch spier, Middle Low German spīr “shoot, sprout, sprig,” Old Norse spīra “stalk”

Origin of spire²

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin spīra, from Greek speîra; see also spiral

Explanation

A pointed cone shape on top of a building is called a spire, especially when it rises from the roof of a church. The part of a church roof that rises above a city skyline or a village's rolling hills, pointing sharply up toward the sky, is its spire. Many church spires have a cross at the very top. Other buildings — religious or secular — can also have spires, though it's most common to see one on a Christian church. The root of spire is the Old English spir, "sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass."

Example Sentences

This base allowed to soar last Sunday’s spire of victory at another Jack Hughes’s laboring hand.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Who expected that Notre-Dame Cathedral would emerge from the debris and lift its spire once more over the roofs of Paris, just five years after the fire of 2019?

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

Barcelona stretched out in every direction, a mosaic of old stone, glass and spire, Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia standing like an undone sentry among the rest.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

The fire destroying its wooden interiors before toppling its spire.

From BBC • Dec. 13, 2024

A dozen pigeons roosting on the cathedral spire cataract down its length and wheel out over the sea.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• steeple