miter

[ mahy-ter ]
See synonyms for: mitermiters on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the official headdress of a bishop in the Western Church, in its modern form a tall cap with a top deeply cleft crosswise, the outline of the front and back resembling that of a pointed arch.

  2. the office or rank of a bishop; bishopric.

  1. Judaism. the official headdress of the ancient high priest, bearing on the front a gold plate engraved with the words Holiness to the Lord. Exodus 28:36–38.

  2. a fillet worn by women of ancient Greece.

  3. Carpentry. an oblique surface formed on a piece of wood or the like so as to butt against an oblique surface on another piece to be joined with it.

  4. Nautical. the inclined seam connecting the two cloths of an angulated sail.

verb (used with object)
  1. to bestow a miter upon, or raise to a rank entitled to it.

  2. to join with a miter joint.

  1. to cut to a miter.

  2. to join (two edges of fabric) at a corner by various methods of folding, cutting, and stitching.

Origin of miter

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mitre, from Latin mitra, from Greek mítra “turban, headdress”
  • Also especially British, mi·tre .

Words Nearby miter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use miter in a sentence

  • If both are of the same diameter, they are called bevel gears; if of different diameters, miter gears.

  • Before he can start to open a lock gate, he must first have released the miter-forcing machine that latches the gates.

    The Panama Canal | Frederic Jennings Haskin
  • Ghullam removed his miter and his false beard, tossing them aside on a table, then undid his sash and peeled out of his robe.

    Temple Trouble | Henry Beam Piper
  • One of the regular priests pulled off his miter and beard and went to the radio, putting on a headset.

    Temple Trouble | Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for miter

miter

/ (ˈmaɪtə) /


noun, verb
  1. the usual US spelling of mitre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012