chimney

American  

[chim-nee] / ˈtʃɪm ni /

noun

PLURAL

chimneys

1. a structure, usually vertical, containing a passage or flue by which the smoke, gases, etc., of a fire or furnace are carried off and by means of which a draft is created.

2. the part of such a structure that rises above a roof.

3. Now Rare.  the smokestack or funnel of a locomotive, steamship, etc.

4. a tube, usually of glass, surrounding the flame of a lamp to promote combustion and keep the flame steady.

5. Geology.

   1. the vent of a volcano.

   2. a narrow vertical fissure between two rock faces or in a rock formation.

6. Mining.  a nearly vertical cylindrical oreshoot.

7. British Dialect.  fireplace.

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verb (used with object)

chimneyed, chimneying

1. Mountain Climbing.  to ascend or descend (a chimney) by repeated bracing of one's feet or back and feet against opposite walls.

verb (used without object)

chimneyed, chimneying

1. Mountain Climbing.  to ascend or descend a chimney.

chimney British  

/ ˈtʃɪmnɪ /

noun

1. a vertical structure of brick, masonry, or steel that carries smoke or steam away from a fire, engine, etc

2. another name for flue 1

3. short for chimney stack

4. an open-ended glass tube fitting around the flame of an oil or gas lamp in order to exclude draughts

5. a fireplace, esp an old and large one

6. geology

   1. a cylindrical body of an ore, which is usually oriented vertically

   2. the vent of a volcano

7. mountaineering a vertical fissure large enough for a person's body to enter

8. anything resembling a chimney in shape or function

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chimney Scientific  

/ chĭm′nē /

1. An elongated opening in a volcano through which magma reaches the Earth's surface.

2. A stack of minerals that have precipitated out of a hydrothermal vent on the floor of a sea or ocean.

3. See more at hydrothermal vent

4. An isolated column of rock along a coastline, formed by the erosion of a sea cliff by waves. Chimneys are smaller than stacks.

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Other Word Forms

• chimneyless adjective
• chimneylike adjective

Etymology

Origin of chimney

1300–50; Middle English chimenai < Middle French cheminee < Latin ( camera ) camīnāta (room) having a fireplace, equivalent to camīn ( us ) (< Greek kámīnos furnace) + -āta -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The researchers describe the newfound vents as “spectacular high-temperature sulfide chimneys.”

From Washington Post

He and his men were struggling to clean out the barrel of their mud-encrusted howitzer with a long metal brush like a chimney sweep.

From New York Times

Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the agency’s Weather Prediction Center, likened the setup to a chimney of moisture being continually replenished.

From Washington Post

Mr. Jaffee replied that he had killed her and was stuffing her in the chimney.

From Washington Post

The tug’s tilting chimney rhymes with the lean of the lamppost, and both are counteracted by the scattered silhouettes of women and children leaning against the iron-paling fence.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• fireplace
• flue
• furnace
• hearth
• pipe
• stack
• vent