miter
Americannoun
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miters
plural
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the official headdress of a bishop in the Western Church, in its modern form a tall cap with a top deeply cleft crosswise, the outline of the front and back resembling that of a pointed arch.
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the office or rank of a bishop; bishopric.
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Judaism. the official headdress of the ancient high priest, bearing on the front a gold plate engraved with the words Holiness to the Lord.
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a fillet worn by women of ancient Greece.
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Carpentry. an oblique surface formed on a piece of wood or the like so as to butt against an oblique surface on another piece to be joined with it.
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Nautical. the inclined seam connecting the two cloths of an angulated sail.
verb (used with object)
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miters,
present (3rd person singular)
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mitered,
past participle, past
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mitering
present participle
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to bestow a miter upon, or raise to a rank entitled to it.
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to join with a miter joint.
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to cut to a miter.
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to join (two edges of fabric) at a corner by various methods of folding, cutting, and stitching.
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mitersimple
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miterssimple
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have miteredperfect
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has miteredperfect
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am miteringprogressive
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are miteringprogressive
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is miteringprogressive
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have been miteringperfect progressive
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has been miteringperfect progressive
Past
-
miteredsimple
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had miteredperfect
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was miteringprogressive
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were miteringprogressive
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had been miteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miter
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mitre, from Latin mitra, from Greek mítra “turban, headdress”
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.
See Examples For:
By 08:30, archbishops and bishops will gather in the Constantine Wing, adjacent to the basilica, wearing liturgical clothes including simple white miter.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
The archbishop’s miter, modeled after the one he wore at his installation, is immediately recognizable.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2023
The curvy, glossy emerald green cabinet, which Preciado built and painted at Jose Auto Body Shop in Boyle Heights to mimic the look and feel of a lowrider, was modeled after a pope’s miter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2022
He’s the sort who stops to admire an original newel post or a carpenter’s miter work from 200 years ago.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
“For the miter saw. I brought a generator, too, so we can get power to these tools. Given any thought yet to electricity for your house?”
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
And by 09:00, patriarchs and cardinals will congregate in Saint Sebastian Chapel, in the basilica, wearing white damask miters.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
To close the gaps between the molding miters and the wall, apply a thin line of paintable caulk.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023
Once the strip is loose, you might find that it is still caught at the corners; molding is often cut slightly long so the pieces spring into place at the miters, ensuring a tight joint.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2020
They had to be able to see the altar, but needed to be positioned to the side so that their miters — the tall ceremonial hats — didn’t block the view for other congregants.
From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2015
After the miters are all cut and the location of the squares, found, they are marked so that pieces of red burlap may be placed over the green before the slats are fastened permanently.
From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 3 by H. H. (Henry Haven) Windsor
The collection was then tucked away into FIDM’s archives until Frank’s colleague posted one of the blazers on Instagram, highlighting the garment’s mesh of “Victorian-style piecework and embroidery with precision mitered tailoring.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
Panel doors are connected by “mortise-and-tenon or mitered joints, and mullions that run vertically between the rails.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2021
Begin a little way away from the mitered corner, not right at it.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2020
After a service of nearly three hours, the solemn congregation burst into applause as the resplendently robed and mitered clergymen were declared to be bishops.
From Time Magazine Archive
All mitered cuts because, he announced, The Amazing Deck would be octagonal.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
Compositors' Tools and MaterialsBy A. A. Stewart A primer of information about composing sticks, galleys, leads, brass rules, cutting and mitering machines, etc.
The table is provided with a bevel slitting gauge s′, and cross cut or mitering gauge x′, Fig.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
A ledge and miter or lipped miter joint is made by rabbeting and mitering the boards to be joined so that the outer portion of the two boards meet in a miter.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
The rabbets are cut out with a rabbeting-plane before mitering and assembling.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
Run it in a straight line, on the wall against the ceiling wherever possible, mitering the joints neatly.
From Electricity for the farm Light, heat and power by inexpensive methods from the water wheel or farm engine by Frederick Irving Anderson
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.
