miter

UK: /ˈmaɪtəʳ/ US: /ˈmaɪtɚ/ ,(mī′tər)

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

mi•ter /ˈmaɪtɚ/   n. [countable]

1. Religion the official headdress of a bishop, having an outline resembling a pointed arch in the front and back.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] mitre. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mi•ter  (mī′tər), n. 

1. Religion 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. Religion the office or rank of a bishop;
   bishopric.
3. Judaism the official headdress of the ancient high priest, bearing on the front a gold plate engraved with the words Holiness to the Lord. Ex. 28:36–38.
4. Clothing a fillet worn by women of ancient Greece.
5. Building [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.
6. [Naut.] the inclined seam connecting the two cloths of an angulated sail.

v.t. 

7. to bestow a miter upon, or raise to a rank entitled to it.
8. Building to join with a miter joint.
9. Building to cut to a miter.
10. Clothing to join (two edges of fabric) at a corner by various methods of folding, cutting, and stitching.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] mitre. 

• Greek mítra turban, headdress
• Latin mitra
• Middle English mitre (noun, nominal) 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

miter / ˈmaɪtə/ noun , verb

1. the usual US spelling of mitre

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mi•tre  (mī′tər), n., v.t., -tred, -tring. [Chiefly Brit.]

1. British Terms miter.

Mi•tre  (mē′trā; Sp. mē′tre), n. 

Bar•to•lo•mé  (bär′tô lô me′), 1821–1906, Argentine soldier, statesman, and author: president of Argentina 1862–68.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mitre, miter / ˈmaɪtə/ noun

1. the liturgical headdress of a bishop or abbot, in most western churches consisting of a tall pointed cleft cap with two bands hanging down at the back
2. short for mitre joint
3. a bevelled surface of a mitre joint

verb (transitive)

1. to make a mitre joint between (two pieces of material, esp wood)
2. to confer a mitre upon: a mitred abbot

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French, from Latin mitra, from Greek mitra turban