steeple

[ stee-puhl ]
See synonyms for steeple on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an ornamental construction, usually ending in a spire, erected on a roof or tower of a church, public building, etc.

  2. a tower terminating in such a construction.

  1. (loosely) a spire.

verb (used with object),stee·pled, stee·pling.
  1. to provide with or form into a steeple or steeplelike configuration.

Origin of steeple

1
before 1000; Middle English stepel steeple, tower, Old English stēpel tower. See steep1, -le

Other words from steeple

  • steepled, adjective
  • stee·ple·less, adjective
  • stee·ple·like, adjective
  • un·stee·pled, adjective

Words that may be confused with steeple

Words Nearby steeple

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use steeple in a sentence

  • They walked along the track, picking out a church steeple here and there, forgetting for a moment the object of their search.

    The Box-Car Children | Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Before mounting to his bed in the steeple, he went to offer a pious prayer to the Lady of Le Puy.

  • It has a very churchly look, and if the steeple were at the other end, it would be equally orthodox.

  • The original design includes a beautiful steeple, surmounted with pinnacles; but want of funds precludes its erection.

  • It is near the western edge of the village of Greenough, the gilt cupola of whose eminent steeple is noted by far-passing ships.

    The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton

British Dictionary definitions for steeple

steeple

/ (ˈstiːpəl) /


noun
  1. a tall ornamental tower that forms the superstructure of a church, temple, etc

  2. such a tower with the spire above it

  1. any spire or pointed structure

Origin of steeple

1
Old English stēpel; see steep 1

Derived forms of steeple

  • steepled, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012