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

In the end, a steeplejack had to "rescue each one in turn at great expense".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2019

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

To untangle it, bank officials last week hired an itinerant steeplejack named Lawrence Lawson, who was living at the Salvation Army shelter.

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