A spire is the tall, narrow, pointed roof that sits on top of a tower and rises to a sharp point at the very top — most famously on a church. When you look at an old European town from a distance and see thin points sticking up above the roofs, those are spires, and that is exactly how the word is usually used: as the thing you see first and from far away.

A spire is the tall, narrow, pointed roofspire是那種又高又窄、頂端尖尖的屋頂 that sits on top of a tower安在塔樓的上方 and rises to a sharp point at the very top直衝到最頂端的一個尖點——most famously on a church最有名的就是教堂上的那種。When you look at an old European town from a distance and see thin points sticking up above the roofs當你從遠處眺望一座古老的歐洲小鎮，看到屋頂上方冒出一根根細細的尖頂, those are spires那些就是spires, and that is exactly how the word is usually used而這個字通常也正是這樣用的: as the thing you see first and from far away指你最先看到、而且是從遠處就能看到的東西。

English writers lean on it for that reason ('the spires of the city', 'a village spire above the trees'), and Oxford's old nickname is 'the city of dreaming spires'.

English writers lean on it for that reason英文作家正是因為這樣才愛用這個字 ('the spires of the city'（「城市裡的尖塔群」, 'a village spire above the trees')「樹梢上方的村莊尖塔」）, and Oxford's old nickname is 'the city of dreaming spires'而牛津的舊暱稱就是「夢幻尖塔之城」。

Keep two things separate: the TOWER is the square or round building part that holds the bells; the SPIRE is the pointed cap on top. A church can have a tower with no spire.

Keep two things separate要把兩者分清楚: the TOWER is the square or round building part that holds the bellsTOWER塔樓是裝著鐘的那個方形或圓形建築部分; the SPIRE is the pointed cap on topSPIRE尖塔則是頂端那個尖尖的頂蓋。A church can have a tower with no spire一座教堂可以有塔樓卻沒有尖塔。

The word can also be stretched to any tall thin pointed shape — a rock spire on a mountain, spires of glass in a modern city — but the church picture is the home meaning.

The word can also be stretched to any tall thin pointed shape這個字也可以延伸指任何又高又細、頂端尖尖的形狀——a rock spire on a mountain山上的岩石尖峰, spires of glass in a modern city現代城市裡的玻璃尖塔——but the church picture is the home meaning但教堂的那個畫面才是它的本義。