What does "sconce" mean?
A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
Sconce
/skɒns/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
- Grammar: sconce is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abatis, advanced work, amercement, applique.
- Useful contrasts: darkness, depart, detach.
- Usage evidence: All stood motionless; but when the yell was again repeated, Colonel Ashton snatched a torch from the sconce, and demanding the key of the bridal-chamber from Henry, to whom, as bride's-man, it had been entrusted.
How to use "sconce"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sconce" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sconce" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sconce" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sconce" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sconce" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abatis" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sconce", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.
"[…]tapers put into lanterns or sconces of several-coloured, oiled paper, that the wind might not annoy them."
- 2 A head or a skull.
"Novv as I am a Chriſtian anſvver me, / In vvhat ſafe place you haue beſtovv'd my monie; / Or I ſhall breake that merrie ſconce of yours / That ſtands on tricks, vvhen I am vndiſpos'd: / VVhere is the thouſand Markes thou hadſt of me?"
- 3 A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.
"No sconce or fortress of his raising was ever known either to have been forced, or yielded up, or quitted."
- 4 a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or other sources of light wordnet
- 5 A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.; A candlestick (holder for a candle, especially a circular tube, with a brim, into which a candle is inserted), either with a handle for carrying, or with a bracket for attaching to a wall.
"Taking the candle […] she stood with the little flat brass sconce in her hand."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A poll tax; a mulct or fine.
"I'll gladly pay a sconce"
- 7 A hut for protection and shelter; a stall. obsolete
"one that […] must raise a sconce by the highway and sell switches"
- 8 a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce wordnet
- 9 An act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.
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- 10 A squinch.
- 11 a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate wordnet
- 12 A fragment of a floe of ice.
"Just then, a broad sconce-piece or low water-washed berg came driving up from the southward. The thought flashed upon me of one of our escapes in Melville Bay; and as the sconce moved rapidly close alongside us, McGary managed to plant an anchor on its slope and hold on to it by a whale-line."
- 13 a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather wordnet
- 14 A fixed seat or shelf.
Verb
- 1 To impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct. obsolete
"The Rector sconced him in the buttery-book, but Webberly “wiped it off, with irreverent and unbeseeming language.” For this, he had to apologise, and go without his commons for three months."
- 2 to shut within a sconce; to imprison. obsolete
- 3 During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink; similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University.
"I sconce anyone who has ever…"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"All stood motionless; but when the yell was again repeated, Colonel Ashton snatched a torch from the sconce, and demanding the key of the bridal-chamber from Henry, to whom, as bride's-man, it had been entrusted."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sconce"?
Common synonyms include: abatis, advanced work, amercement, applique, balistraria, bank.
How do you use "sconce" in a sentence?
All stood motionless; but when the yell was again repeated, Colonel Ashton snatched a torch from the sconce, and demanding the key of the bridal-chamber from Henry, to whom, as bride's-man, it had been entrusted.
How do you pronounce "sconce"?
Pronounced /skɒns/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.
Etymology 2
Unclear. Perhaps a use of sconce (“light fixture”) or sconce (“fortification”), but seemingly older than the latter
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Middle Dutch schans, cognate with German Schanze.