steeple

[stee-puh l]

noun

an ornamental construction, usually ending in a spire, erected on a roof or tower of a church, public building, etc.

a tower terminating in such a construction.

(loosely) a spire.

verb (used with object), stee·pled, stee·pling.

to provide with or form into a steeple or steeplelike configuration.

Origin of steeple

before 1000; Middle English stepel steeple, tower, Old English stēpel tower. See steep¹, -le

Related formsstee·pled, adjectivestee·ple·less, adjectivestee·ple·like, adjectiveun·stee·pled, adjective

Can be confusedspire steeple

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

Examples from the Web for steepled

Historical Examples of steepled

Otherwise, Chair of Committees might have been steepled with my gore.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 11, 1893
Various
Alan steepled his fingers and tried to look serious and committed.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
Cory Doctorow
As we neared the provincial city we saw the steepled mass of the cathedral, long and high, rise far into the cloud-freckled blue.
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. X (of X) - America - II, Index
Various
High on the steepled mountains is a wreath of filmy white that trails low in the ravines.
Trails Through Western Woods
Helen Fitzgerald Sanders
Smathers steepled his fingers over his abdomen and rubbed his fingertips together.
Cum Grano Salis
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for steepled

steeple

noun

a tall ornamental tower that forms the superstructure of a church, temple, etc

such a tower with the spire above it

any spire or pointed structure

Derived Formssteepled, adjective

Word Origin for steeple

Old English stēpel; see steep 1

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

Word Origin and History for steepled

steeple

Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower" (related to steap "high, lofty"), from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (see steep (adj.)).