steeplejack

American

[stee-puhl-jak] / ˈsti pəlˌdʒæk /

noun

a person who climbs steeples, towers, or the like, to build or repair them.

steeplejack British

/ ˈstiːpəlˌdʒæk /

noun

a person trained and skilled in the construction and repair of steeples, chimneys, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of steeplejack

First recorded in 1880–85; steeple + jack ¹

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.

Tom Jones is a steeplejack and director of the old buildings conservation specialist firm, Jones and Fraser.

From BBC • Aug. 13, 2023

He said after the ceremony, the 25 guests kept warm around a firepit that had once been a furnace in the now-closed heritage centre opened after the death of the celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah.

From BBC • May 11, 2023

Collins is currently playing Fred Dibnah's wife in a stage play about the late TV steeplejack at the Bolton Octagon.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2011

Or else he is like a steeplejack, undizzied by his altitude in public affairs and intent on mending the weathervane, or crowing as a weathercock.

From Time Magazine Archive

Every roofer, tiler, and steeplejack had a dæmon who could fly, or one so small she could come up in a pocket.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023