TOP

Definition of mantle noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

mantle

noun
 
/ˈmæntl/
 
/ˈmæntl/
jump to other results
  1. [singular] the mantle of somebody/something (literary) the role and responsibilities of an important person or job, especially when they are passed on from one person to another
    • The vice-president must now take on the mantle of supreme power.
    • She will soon inherit her father’s mantle.
  2. [countable] (literary) a layer of something that covers a surface
    • hills with a mantle of snow
    • a grey mantle of mist shrouding the slopes
  3. [countable] a loose piece of clothing without sleeves (= parts covering the arms), worn over other clothes, especially in the past synonym cloak, covering
  4. [singular] (geology) the part of the earth below the crust and surrounding the core
  5. (also gas mantle)
     [countable] a cover around the flame of a gas lamp that becomes very bright when it is heated
  6. (also mantel)
     (both especially North American English)
    (also mantelpiece, mantlepiece (both British and North American English))
    [countable] a shelf above a fireplace
    7. Word OriginOld English mentel, from Latin mantellum ‘cloak’; reinforced in Middle English by Old French mantel.
See mantle in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee mantle in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: mantle

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day