Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Later this year, stay tuned for the hotel to unveil their rooftop bar and restaurant, where guests will be able to soak up incredible views of Prague Castle, the Czech National Museum, and the city’s countless tiled rooftops and historic spires at sunset.—Elizabeth Brownfield, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025 The shrimp cocktail at the comically exclusive Polo Bar in Manhattan is an imposing specimen, the crustaceans arriving tightly shingled on a steeple of ice accented by a celery spire.—Tanya Sichynsky, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
Verb
Both crosses were removed from the cathedral’s steeple and spire in 1998 for building renovations.—Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 24 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for spire
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English, from Old English spīr; akin to Middle Dutch spier blade of grass
Noun (2)
Latin spira coil, from Greek speira; perhaps akin to Greek sparton rope, esparto
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Share