mantle

UK: /ˈmænt^əl/ US: /ˈmæntəl/ ,(man′tl)

Inflections of 'mantle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

mantles

v 3rd person singular

mantling

v pres p

mantled

v past

mantled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

man•tle /ˈmæntəl/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing a cloak without sleeves.
2. something that covers, surrounds, or conceals:
   the mantle of darkness.
3. Geology the portion of the earth, about 1800 mi. (2900 km) thick, between the crust and the core.
4. Chemistry a small hood that does not burn, used in certain lanterns, that gives off a brilliant light when placed around a flame.
5. the responsibility or duties of a certain position:
   [usually singular] assumed the mantle of leadership.
6. mantel.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

man•tle  (man′tl), n., v., -tled, -tling. 
n. 

1. Clothing a loose, sleeveless cloak or cape.
2. something that covers, envelops, or conceals:
   the mantle of darkness.
3. Geology the portion of the earth, about 1800 mi. (2900 km) thick, between the crust and the core. Cf. core ¹ (def. 10), crust (def. 6).
4. [Zool.] a single or paired outgrowth of the body wall that lines the inner surface of the valves of the shell in mollusks and brachiopods.
5. Chemistry a chemically prepared, incombustible network hood for a gas jet, kerosene wick, etc., that, when the jet or wick is lighted, becomes incandescent and gives off a brilliant light.
6. Birds [Ornith.] the back, scapular, and inner wing plumage, esp. when of the same color and distinct from other plumage.
7. mantel.
8. Metallurgy a continuous beam set on a ring of columns and supporting the upper brickwork of a blast furnace in such a way that the brickwork of the hearth and bosh may be readily replaced.

v.t. 

9. to cover with or as if with a mantle;
   envelop;
   conceal.

v.i. 

10. to spread or cover a surface, as a blush over the face.
11. to flush;
    blush.
12. Birds (of a hawk) to spread out one wing and then the other over the corresponding outstretched leg.
13. to be or become covered with a coating, as a liquid;
    foam:
    The champagne mantled in the glass.

• Latin mantellum
• Middle English mantel, Old English mæntel bef. 900

Synonyms

• 2. veil, cover, blanket, screen, cloak.

Man•tle  (man′tl), n. 

1. Biographical Mickey (Charles), 1931–95, U.S. baseball player.
2. Biographical (Robert) Burns, 1873–1948, U.S. journalist.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mantle / ˈmænt^əl/ noun

1. a loose wrap or cloak
2. such a garment regarded as a symbol of someone's power or authority
3. anything that covers completely or envelops
4. a small dome-shaped or cylindrical mesh impregnated with cerium or thorium nitrates, used to increase illumination in a gas or oil lamp
5. Also called: pallium a protective layer of epidermis in molluscs that secretes a substance forming the shell
6. the feathers of the folded wings and back, esp when these are of a different colour from the remaining feathers
7. the part of the earth between the crust and the core, accounting for more than 82% of the earth's volume (but only 68% of its mass) and thought to be composed largely of peridotite
8. a less common spelling of mantel
9. another word for pallium3

verb

1. (transitive) to envelop or supply with a mantle
2. to spread over or become spread over

Etymology: 13th Century: via Old French from Latin mantellum, diminutive of mantum cloak