taper
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A slender wax candle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tayperSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈteɪpɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A slender wax candle.
A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object.
Stick of wax with a wick in the middle
by extension
A small light.
The portion of an object with such a form.
A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod.
verb
transitive
To make thinner or narrower at one end.
adjective
Tapered; narrowing to a point.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.
More ways to use taper
- “Interested tapered off.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of gradually lowering the size or amount.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A file with converging edges.
End weakly.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: slender wax candle
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.