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altarpiece

American  
[awl-ter-pees] / ˈɔl tərˌpis /

noun

  1. a painted or carved screen behind or above the altar or communion table in Christian churches; reredos.

altarpiece British  
/ ˈɔːltəˌpiːs /

noun

  1. a work of art set above and behind an altar; a reredos

"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

Etymology

Origin of altarpiece

First recorded in 1635–45; altar + piece

Vocabulary lists containing altarpiece

Art History

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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.

This altarpiece marks the Italian artist coming into his own at the end of the Renaissance, its vision of Christ after his crucifixion rendered in an expressive, enigmatic style.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

Augustinian hermits in della Francesca’s native Borgo San Sepolcro commissioned the altarpiece in 1454, and it hung in its original church for less than 100 years.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 19, 2024

They found the faces were identical to those in a Raphael altarpiece.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2023

Right away, we were stunned into silence by an enormous altarpiece teeming with skeletons, angels, the Whore of Babylon on her seven-headed steed.

From New York Times • Aug. 25, 2022

He cannot make himself stay in town, even to finish the altarpiece.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

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.