mantel
Americannoun
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a construction framing the opening of a fireplace and usually covering part of the chimney breast in a more or less decorative manner.
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Also called mantelshelf. a shelf above a fireplace opening.
noun
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a wooden or stone frame around the opening of a fireplace, together with its decorative facing
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Also called: mantel shelf. a shelf above this frame
Usage
What does mantel mean? A mantel is the frame around the opening of a fireplace. Mantel also commonly refers to a shelf above the fireplace (which may or may not be attached to the other kind of mantel). This shelf can also be called a mantelshelf. Both senses of mantel can also be spelled mantle. (The word mantle has many other meanings.)Synonyms for mantel include mantlepiece, mantelboard, and chimneypiece. Example: This mantel will need to be replaced since the wood is rotting, but the fireplace itself looks solid.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mantel
1480–90; earlier mantell mantelet; variant of mantle
Explanation
A mantel is a shelf that sticks out just above a fireplace. People often put trophies and pictures on their mantel. If your house has a fireplace, chances are you also have a mantel. A mantel is a handy place to display anything you like looking at or want to show off to visitors. Trophies and prizes are common things to find on a mantel, as are pictures of family and friends. If you want people to see something, put it on the mantel.
Vocabulary lists containing mantel
Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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Chains
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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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.
He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
"But the most beloved ballroom in the UK always leads the way, and in a Strictly first we have chosen three outstanding hosts to take up the mantel."
From BBC • May 19, 2026
It’s for the mantel, for our boys,’” Song revealed.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026
In the once-bare space above the bedroom’s mantel, which holds a Louis XVI-style clock, gold-framed pictures and miniatures of family members and friends hang.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026
Ms. Taggart handed me my mug and I took it to the mantel over the little fireplace.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
