mantelpiece
Britishnoun
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Also called: mantel shelf. chimneypiece. a shelf above a fireplace often forming part of the mantel
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another word for mantel
Explanation
A mantelpiece is a frame around a fireplace, or a shelf above it. When families celebrate Christmas, they often hang stockings from the mantelpiece on Christmas Eve. If you have a fireplace, you probably have a mantelpiece, or a mantel. While some mantelpieces are elaborate and decorative, made of heavy stone like granite or marble, and sometimes extending far up the wall above the fireplace. Others are very simple, made of a plain wooden shelf. The original, medieval mantelpieces were hoods that caught smoke from the fire.
Vocabulary lists containing mantelpiece
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When I wrote Mantelpiece I was pretty fearless because I didn't really expect anyone except my mum to read it.
From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2011
Annabel Pitcher: 'I've never seen it as an issues book, ever' The first agent Annabel Pitcher approached with her debut novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, may well be kicking herself now.
From The Guardian • Aug. 19, 2011
Mantelpiece ornaments—Vases—Derbyshire spars—Jade or spleen stone—Wood carvings—Old gilt.
From Chats on Household Curios by Burgess, Fred. W. (Frederick William)
Now, here is a Letter for your Mantelpiece to-morrow—Sunday—I don’t think I have more to say.
From Edward FitzGerald and "Posh" "Herring Merchants" by Blyth, James
Mantelpiece: Mantelshelf: Mantelboard: Mantell and Brace.—What is the origin of this word, and whence came the thing?
From Notes and Queries, Number 231, April 1, 1854 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Bell, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
