spire

¹ American  

[spahy^uhr] / spaɪər /

noun

1. a tall, acutely pointed pyramidal roof or rooflike construction upon a tower, roof, etc.

2. a similar construction forming the upper part of a steeple.

3. a tapering, pointed part of something; a tall, sharp-pointed summit, peak, or the like.

   the distant spires of the mountains.

4. the highest point or summit of something.

   the spire of a hill;

   the spire of one's profession.

5. a sprout or shoot of a plant, as an acrospire of grain or a blade or spear of grass.

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verb (used without object)

spired, spiring

1. to shoot or rise into spirelike form; rise or extend to a height in the manner of a spire.

spire ² American  

[spahy^uhr] / spaɪər /

noun

1. a coil or spiral.

2. one of the series of convolutions of a coil or spiral.

3. Zoology. the upper, convoluted part of a spiral shell, above the aperture.

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spire ¹ British  

/ spaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: steeple.  a tall structure that tapers upwards to a point, esp one on a tower or roof or one that forms the upper part of a steeple

2. a slender tapering shoot or stem, such as a blade of grass

3. the apical part of any tapering formation; summit

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verb

1. (intr) to assume the shape of a spire; point up

2. (tr) to furnish with a spire or spires

spire ² British  

/ spaɪə, spaɪəˈrɪfərəs /

noun

1. any of the coils or turns in a spiral structure

2. the apical part of a spiral shell

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Other Word Forms

• spireless adjective
• spiriferous adjective
• spiry adjective
• unspiring adjective

Etymology

Origin of spire¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English spir(e), Old English spīr “spike (of grain), blade (of grass)”; cognate with Middle Dutch spier, Middle Low German spīr “shoot, sprout, sprig,” Old Norse spīra “stalk”

Origin of spire²

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin spīra, from Greek speîra; spiral

Example Sentences

A red, white and blue spire sits atop the multistory tower.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

First, there is an initital 113m section of sloping steel and glass followed by the eight "bamboo" boxes before reaching the final stage which includes scaling the spire at the very top of the tower.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

Barcelona stretched out in every direction, a mosaic of old stone, glass and spire, Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia standing like an undone sentry among the rest.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

When the spire fell through the stone vault below, it caused other vaults to fall, alarmingly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

You could see the abandoned funeral chapel, iron doors padlocked, ivy on the sides of the spire, a small tree growing out of the guttering at roof level.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• steeple