Once the spire was hoisted to the top of the building, the Chrysler towered over the Manhattan Bank Building.—Ashley Gardini, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2024 Its towering spire still serves as a landmark for locals.—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 8 June 2024 Trails lead to park icons like the Delicate Arch and Park Avenue, an area where the sandstone spires resemble skyscrapers.—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 10 May 2024 Neil Watson Admittedly, this part of the UK has never failed to pull a crowd, and the seasoned traveller will already be well acquainted with the gleaming spires of Oxford and just-as-shiny storefronts at Bicester Village.—Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spire
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
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