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Definition of "taper" []

  • A small or very slender candle. (noun)
  • A long wax-coated wick used to light candles or gas lamps. (noun)
  • A source of feeble light. (noun)
  • A gradual decrease in thickness or width of an elongated object. (noun)
  • A gradual decrease, as in action or force. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "taper" in a sentence
  • "The deacon lights a taper from the Easter fire, and presents it to the priest, who uses it to light the Paschal candle."
  • "“This one,” he says, reaching into a plastic bin that at elBulli is called a taper an abbreviation and approximate phonetic rendering of Tupperware, “has nothing to do with this one.”"
  • "People often ask me whether I believe that cutting the hair and singeing the ends with a lighted taper is beneficial for the growth."