DEFINITIONS
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spire

1
[ spahyuh r ]
/ spaɪər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR spire ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc.
a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple.
a tapering, pointed part of something; a tall, sharp-pointed summit, peak, or the like: the distant spires of the mountains.
the highest point or summit of something: the spire of a hill; the spire of one's profession.
a sprout or shoot of a plant, as an acrospire of grain or a blade or spear of grass.

verb (used without object), spired, spir·ing.

to shoot or rise into spirelike form; rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire.

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Words related to spire

towering, soaring, stately, imposing, magnificent, monumental, colossal, mighty, massive, prodigious, tall, gigantic, lofty, skyward, convolute, sublime, elevated, surpassing, twine, rotate

Words nearby spire

spiral-bound, spiralize, spiralizer, spirant, spirantize, spire, spirea, spired, spirelet, spireme, spires

Origin of spire

1
before 1000; Middle English; Old English spīr spike, blade; cognate with Middle Dutch spier, Middle Low German spīr shoot, sprout, sprig, Old Norse spīra stalk

OTHER WORDS FROM spire

spire·less, adjectiveun·spir·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH spire

spire steeple
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for spiring

British Dictionary definitions for spiring (1 of 2)

spire1
/ (spaɪə) /

noun

Also called: steeple a tall structure that tapers upwards to a point, esp one on a tower or roof or one that forms the upper part of a steeple
a slender tapering shoot or stem, such as a blade of grass
the apical part of any tapering formation; summit

verb

(intr) to assume the shape of a spire; point up
(tr) to furnish with a spire or spires

Derived forms of spire

spiry, adjective

Word Origin for spire

Old English spīr blade; related to Old Norse spīra stalk, Middle Low German spīr shoot, Latin spīna thorn

British Dictionary definitions for spiring (2 of 2)

spire2
/ (spaɪə) /

noun

any of the coils or turns in a spiral structure
the apical part of a spiral shell

Derived forms of spire

spiriferous (spaɪəˈrɪfərəs), adjective

Word Origin for spire

C16: from Latin spīra a coil, from Greek speira
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012