mantelpiece

noun

man·​tel·​piece ˈman-tᵊl-ˌpēs How to pronounce mantelpiece (audio)
1
: a mantel with its side elements
2

Examples of mantelpiece in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Naturally shed elk antlers on the back of the mantelpiece and simple Fraser fir garland will certainly do the trick. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2024 Billie Eilish should make some room on her mantelpiece. Clayton Davis, Variety, 8 Jan. 2024 Each showed a single woman seated on a simple chair and leaning against the mantelpiece around a fireplace. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023 By her death in 1942, Beaux’s thick, buttery style was as out of place as a 14th-century French mantelpiece in a 1911 Arts & Crafts building. Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 27 Oct. 2023 There is a blue plaque on the mantelpiece commemorating Lydon, and is the only evidence of the musician living here. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2023 Hundred-year-old marble mantelpieces weren’t then a consensus taste. Jonathan Lethem, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 The mechanism was held in a wooden case, a bit like a clock that might go on the mantelpiece. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023 Shaw died in his English country house in 1950 with a signed photograph of Stalin on his mantelpiece. M. D. Aeschliman, National Review, 5 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mantelpiece.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mantelpiece was in 1660

Dictionary Entries Near mantelpiece

Cite this Entry

“Mantelpiece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mantelpiece. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mantelpiece

noun
man·​tel·​piece -ˌpēs How to pronounce mantelpiece (audio)
1
: a mantel with its side elements
2
: the shelf of a mantel

More from Merriam-Webster on mantelpiece

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