spiry

[ spahyuh r-ee ]

/ ˈspaɪər i /

adjective

having the form of a spire, slender shoot, or tapering pointed body; tapering up to a point like a spire.

abounding in spires or steeples.

Nearby words

spirt, spirula, spirulina, spiruroid, spiruroidea, spiry, spissatus, spissitude, spit, spit and polish, spit curl

Origin of spiry

First recorded in 1595–1605; spire¹ + -y¹

Definition for spiry (2 of 2)

spiry

[ spahy-ree ]

/ ˈspaɪ ri /

adjective

spiral; coiled; coiling; helical.

Origin of spiry

First recorded in 1670–80; spire² + -y¹

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

Examples from the Web for spiry

Her also next, Hovering and clamoring, he by the wing Within his spiry folds drew, and devoured.
The Iliad of Homer|Homer
Beneath these spiry, crowding trees one has only "the twilight of the forest noon."
Wild Life on the Rockies|Enos A. Mills
The spiry exuberance of Milan Cathedral can be paralleled in the neighbourhood of Aconcagua.
The Alps|Martin Conway
But the group oi spires, without it, would not be rich enough to give a proper impression of Lausanne, as a spiry place.
Modern Painters, Volume V (of 5)|John Ruskin

A light, airy young Beech, with its spiry branches hanging in easy forms, is generally beautiful.
Woodland Gleanings|Charles Tilt

British Dictionary definitions for spiry

spiry

/ (ˈspaɪərɪ) /

adjective

poetic of spiral form; helical

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