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er; the whole of a structure if the roof is of spire form. See Spire. "A weathercock on a steeple." Shak. Rood steeple. See Rood tower, under Rood. -- Steeple bush (Bot.), a low shrub (Spiræa tomentosa) having dense panicles of minute rose-colored flowers; hardhack. -- Steeple chase, a race across country between a n…

Bearing a steeple; as, a steeple-crowned building.

The act of riding steeple chases.

Furnished with, or having the form of, a steeple; adorned with steeples. Fairfax.

A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock. Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! Shak.

The drake fly. The drake will mount steeple height into the air. Walton. Drake fly, a kind of fly, sometimes used in angling. The dark drake fly, good in August. Walton.

ny conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide; some prominent object, as a hill or steeple. Landmarks of history, important events by which eras or conditions are determined.

f the nave and transept of a church; -- when crowned with a spire it was called also rood steeple. Weale. -- Rood tree, the cross. [Obs.] "Died upon the rood tree." Gower.

s as a guide to mariners; a beacon; a landmark visible from the sea, as a hill, a tree, a steeple, or the like. Shak.

n not be said to have a roof, such as that of Strasburg cathedral; the tapering part of a steeple, or the steeple itself. "With glistering spires and pinnacles adorned." Milton. A spire of land that stand apart, Cleft from the main. Tennyson. Tall spire from which the sound of cheerful bells Just undulates upon the lis…

Having a spire; being in the form of a spire; as, a spired steeple. Mason.