The project envisions a residential area in the attic level of the tower, which is just below the landmark spire and cupola atop the building.—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024 Last year, beneath Churchill Downs’s twin spires, seven horses died during the week of the showpiece event — two of them in races in the hours leading up to the Derby.—Joe Drape, New York Times, 17 May 2024 Today, these trees are common throughout north-central Europe, but few are tall enough to replace Notre Dame’s roof lattice and spire, thanks to centuries of deforestation.—Todd Braje, The Conversation, 16 May 2024 The man in his 60s injured his ankle and had leaped over a 5-foot chasm onto the rock spire — and then couldn’t get back across the gap, Grand County EMS and sheriff’s search and rescue officials said in a May 10 post on Facebook.—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 13 May 2024 First grown commercially in the Provence region of southern France, its waving purple spires still grace the hillsides and perfume the surrounding air during its exuberant late-spring bloom.—Lee Somerville, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024 As nightfall fell upon Europe, images were already surfacing on social media of towns and countries on mainland Europe, such as Austria and Italy, being alight with bright pink spires rising high above the horizon.—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 10 May 2024 Along the solar horizon, towering spires of gas known as spicules stretch up to about 6,214 miles (10,000 kilometers) from the Sun’s chromosphere.—George Dvorsky / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 May 2024 Last year, beneath Churchill Downs’s iconic twin spires, seven horses died during the week of the showpiece event — two of them in races in the hours leading up to the Derby.—Melissa Hoppert, New York Times, 2 May 2024
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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