noun, plural chim·neys.
- a structure, usually vertical, containing a passage or flue by which the smoke, gases, etc., of a fire or furnace are carried off and by means of which a draft is created.
- the part of such a structure that rises above a roof.
- Now Rare. the smokestack or funnel of a locomotive, steamship, etc.
- a tube, usually of glass, surrounding the flame of a lamp to promote combustion and keep the flame steady.
- Geology.
- the vent of a volcano.
- a narrow vertical fissure between two rock faces or in a rock formation.
- Mining. a nearly vertical cylindrical oreshoot.
- British Dialect. fireplace.
verb (used with object), chim·neyed, chim·ney·ing.
- Mountain Climbing. to ascend or descend (a chimney) by repeated bracing of one’s feet or back and feet against opposite walls.
verb (used without object), chim·neyed, chim·ney·ing.
- Mountain Climbing. to ascend or descend a chimney.
noun
- a vertical structure of brick, masonry, or steel that carries smoke or steam away from a fire, engine, etc
- another name for flue 1 (def. 1)
- short for chimney stack
- an open-ended glass tube fitting around the flame of an oil or gas lamp in order to exclude draughts
- British a fireplace, esp an old and large one
- geology
- a cylindrical body of an ore, which is usually oriented vertically
- the vent of a volcano
- mountaineering a vertical fissure large enough for a person’s body to enter
- anything resembling a chimney in shape or function
late 13c., “furnace;” early 14c., “chimney stack of a fireplace;” late 14c., “fireplace in a residential space;” from Old French cheminee “fireplace; room with a fireplace; hearth; chimney stack” (12c., Modern French cheminée), from Late Latin (camera) caminata “fireplace; room with a fireplace,” from Latin caminatus, adjective of caminus “furnace, forge; hearth, oven; flue,” from Greek kaminos “furnace, oven, brick kiln.” Jamieson [1808] notes that in vulgar use in Scotland it always is pronounced “chimley.” Chimney sweep attested from 1610s, earlier chimney sweeper (c.1500).
- An elongated opening in a volcano through which magma reaches the Earth’s surface.
- A stack of minerals that have precipitated out of a hydrothermal vent on the floor of a sea or ocean. See more at hydrothermal vent.
- An isolated column of rock along a coastline, formed by the erosion of a sea cliff by waves. Chimneys are smaller than stacks.