cupola
Americannoun
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Architecture.
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a light structure on a dome or roof, serving as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere.
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a dome, especially one covering a circular or polygonal area.
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any of various domelike structures.
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Metallurgy. a vertical furnace for melting iron to be cast.
noun
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a roof or ceiling in the form of a dome
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a small structure, usually domed, on the top of a roof or dome
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a protective dome for a gun on a warship
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a vertical air-blown coke-fired cylindrical furnace in which iron is remelted for casting
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cupola
1540–50; < Italian < Latin cūpula, equivalent to cūp ( a ) tub + -ula -ule. Cf. cup
Explanation
A cupola is a rounded structure on top of a building's roof. Most cupolas have the shape of a dome, or even take the form of a small dome on top of a larger dome. Although the majority of cupolas are dome-shaped, the small, windowed projection on top of a train caboose is also called a cupola. A raised gun turret on a tank is yet another type of cupola, as is a furnace used for refining metal. The word cupola is Italian, from the Late Latin root cupula, "a little tub," a diminutive form of cupa, "cask or barrel."
Vocabulary lists containing cupola
Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
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Orbiting Jupiter
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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.
“They are still in power. The cupola is intact. But they don’t sleep at night.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
Ms. Arcenaux said that she remembered looking down at Earth from the cupola window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on the second day of her journey.
From New York Times • Jun. 12, 2024
I knew the copper washing off the cupola roof was protecting the shingles but didn’t know why.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2024
Through the cupola, they have a view of Earth where there are no visible borders.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 19, 2024
I looked up, and above me rose the square opening that formed the inside of the steeple, actually more like a high cupola.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
