Mantel vs mantle
Mantel is a noun for the shelf above a fireplace. Mantle usually means a cloak, a role someone takes on, or the layer of Earth under the crust.
A mantEL is a shELf. A mantle is like a cloak.
mantel noun
The shelf above a fireplace.
- She lined the mantel with family photos and a pair of brass candlesticks.
- We hung the stockings from the mantel on Christmas Eve.
mantle noun
A cloak, or something that covers like one. It also means an important role someone takes on, or the layer inside Earth.
- When the founder retired, his daughter took up the mantle of running the family firm.
- By morning a thick mantle of snow lay over the whole valley.
Watch out
- The two words sound exactly the same, so only the spelling tells them apart.
- Mantle is also listed as another spelling of mantel for the fireplace shelf, but mantel is the usual spelling for it.The brass clock on the mantle chimed midnight.
- Mantle can be a verb meaning to cover or hide something.Thick smoke from the fires mantled the valley for days.
Test yourself
Scientists study how heat moves through the Earth's blank.
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mantle. The layer of Earth between the crust and the core is the mantle.
After the coach left, his assistant took on the blank of leadership.
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mantle. A role or position of authority, pictured as a cloak, is a mantle.
We set the clock on the blank above the fireplace.
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mantel. The shelf above a fireplace is usually spelled mantel; mantle is a rarer variant.
A heavy blank of fog hid the harbor all morning.
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mantle. Something that covers and hides, like a cloak, is a mantle.