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
The initiative follows previous fundraising campaigns in which donors could adopt gargoyles or spires in exchange for inclusion in the Duomo’s donor register, where contributors’ names are recorded as part of the cathedral’s long history of support.—ABC News, 15 Feb. 2026 Near the spires of the Duomo, the line for the Olympics megastore, sparse for weeks, now stretches into the piazza.—Anthony Faiola, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
Verb
On April 15, a fire broke out in the attic and spread across the roof and spire before firefighters were alerted.—Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 21 May 2025 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