spire
Skyline's sharp peak
A spire is a tall, tapering structure that rises to a point, most commonly seen atop church steeples and Gothic cathedrals.
The word extends to any slender pointed formation that shoots upward: spires of rock, spires of flame.
Plants send up spires when they produce tall, thin stalks or shoots.
As a verb, spire means to rise or grow in this tapering fashion, though this use is now mostly literary.
Pointed church tower
- cathedralBishop's principal church
- belfryTower containing bells
- bell towerStructure housing large chimes
- naveChurch's main interior
apse · transept · chancel · narthex · vestry · basilica · baptistery · font
Utmost summit or spire
- turretProtruding fortified structure
- finialDecorative top element
- lanternEnclosed portable light
- cupolaSmall rooftop dome
dome · gable · buttress · flying buttress · tracery · fretwork · pointed · conical
Tiered Asian temple tower
Tapering stone monument
- columnVertical structural element
- pillarUpright architectural support
- pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
- capitalWealth used for investment
entablature · frieze · cornice · plinth · monument · memorial
Filled-in outline shape
- cityscapeView of urban architecture
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- panoramaUnobstructed wide-angle view
- rooftopsUpper surfaces of buildings
vista · profile · landmark · iconic · towering · soaring · piercing · skyward
Extending toward something
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
- ascendingMoving upward
- upwardToward a higher position
- heavenwardToward the sky
lofty · transcendent · spiritual · divine · striving · elevated · sublime · ethereal
Spiraling three-dimensional curve
- coilWound circular arrangement
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
- helicalShaped like a coil
corkscrew · whorl · nautilus · shell · snail · tendril · vine · climbing
Mosque tower with balcony
- mosqueIslamic house of worship
- muezzinIslamic prayer announcer
- call to prayerReligious worship summons
- crescentCurved sickle-like arc
steeple
Pointed church tower
- cathedralBishop's principal church
- belfryTower containing bells
- bell towerStructure housing large chimes
nave · apse · transept · chancel · narthex · vestry · basilica · baptistery · font · choir
pinnacle
Utmost summit or spire
cupola · dome · gable · buttress · flying buttress · tracery · fretwork · pointed · conical · tapering
pagoda
Tiered Asian temple tower
obelisk
Tapering stone monument
- columnVertical structural element
- pillarUpright architectural support
- pedimentTriangular architectural crowning element
capital · entablature · frieze · cornice · plinth · monument · memorial
silhouette
Filled-in outline shape
- cityscapeView of urban architecture
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- panoramaUnobstructed wide-angle view
rooftops · vista · profile · landmark · iconic · towering · soaring · piercing · skyward · dominating
reaching
Extending toward something
heavenward · lofty · transcendent · spiritual · divine · striving · elevated · sublime · ethereal · pointing
helix
Spiraling three-dimensional curve
helical · corkscrew · whorl · nautilus · shell · snail · tendril · vine · climbing · whorled
minaret
Mosque tower with balcony
- mosqueIslamic house of worship
- muezzinIslamic prayer announcer
- call to prayerReligious worship summons
shoot
Discharge or capture
seedling · germinating · emerging · pointed · reed
- towerstower, bell tower, radio tower, water tower, cell tower
- abbey featuresabbey, cloister, chapter house, refectory, scriptorium
- British ReligionAnglican, Church of Scotland, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey
- Cathedral Artrose window, flying buttress, gargoyle, altarpiece, pointed arch
- cathedralsnave, apse, transept, altar, chancel
- church architecturealtar, altars, nave, naves, aisle
spirebase
Supporting bottom structure
foundation · bottom · foot · nadir · basement
spiredome
Rounded vault forming roof
cupola · flat roof · rotunda · barrel vault · onion dome
- towering spires
- church spireTapered religious tower top
- cathedral spirePointed church tower top
- spiritual inspirationSacred creative stirring
- Gothic spiresPointed cathedral roof projections
- dreaming spiresOxford's iconic towers
inspire, inspired, inspiring, inspiration, aspiring, aspire, conspire, perspire, inspirational