noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A shelf that is affixed to the wall above a fireplace.

   "The medium was leaning with her elbow on the mantel piece, austere and aloof."

2. 2
   shelf that projects from wall above fireplace wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

chimneypiecemantelmantelmantlemantlepiece

Example

More examples

"Tom looked at the clock on the mantelpiece."

Etymology

From mantel + piece.

Related phrases

you don't look at the mantelpiece when you poke the fireyou don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.