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Noun
In Germany, medieval towns like Regensburg and Passau brim with Gothic spires, storybook townhouses, and charming cobbled squares, while the grand Melk Abbey dazzles with its golden frescoes.—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025 Over eons, this deeply buried and buoyant salt layer squeezed upward in other places throughout the region, warping the surface into dramatic landforms like stone arches and spires.—Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
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
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