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American  

[aps] / æps /

noun

1. Architecture. a semicircular or polygonal termination or recess in a building, usually vaulted and used especially at the end of a choir in a church.

2. Astronomy. an apsis.

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apse British  

/ æps, ˈæpsɪdəl, æpˈsaɪdəl /

noun

1. Also called: apsis.  a domed or vaulted semicircular or polygonal recess, esp at the east end of a church

2. astronomy another name for apsis

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Other Word Forms

• apsidal adjective
• apsidally adverb

Etymology

Origin of apse

First recorded in 1815–25; variant of apsis

Explanation

In architecture, an apse is a curved or rounded section at one end of a building. You'll most often find an apse in a church. In Gothic, Romanesque, and Byzantine Christian churches, it's very common to find a semicircular area with a vaulted ceiling, often topped by a dome, on the east side of the building. This is generally where the altar is located, making the apse the most important section of the building. The word comes from the Latin apsis, "arch or vault," and the Greek root hapsis, "arch or loop."

Example Sentences

A room near the church’s apse contains fragments of a sarcophagus believed to be St. Neophytos’s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

There is still scaffolding around much of the eastern end, and in coming years the outside walls of the apse and sacristy will need treatment.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2024

The floor plans of Aksumite churches generally followed that of Byzantine churches or basilica, meaning they were oblong in shape with a rounded apse at one end.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

He painted the triptych — the Lost Mural — in the apse of the building, as well as other murals in the synagogue’s interior.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2022

The whole of the apse had been taken over by a monumental furnace, and a brick chimney cut right up through the center of the frescoed dome, obliterating the heads of angels.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor