Basic Details
Word: Mantle
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A loose cloak without sleeves; a layer that covers something, such as a mantle of snow; the thick layer of the Earth between the crust and the core; also a duty or role passed from one person to another.
Synonyms: cloak, cape, covering, layer
Sounds like: mantel (a shelf above a fireplace)
How to Spell Mantle
Syllables: man - tle
Tricky part: The word ends in tle, like little. The spelling mantel is a different word, the shelf above a fireplace.
Watch out for: mantal, mentle, mantul
Memory tip: Mantel and shelf both contain el, so the fireplace shelf is mantel; the cloak and the layer of the Earth are mantle.
Idioms and Phrases
- take on the mantle: to accept a role or responsibility from someone else. Example: "When the captain was injured, the vice-captain took on the mantle of leading the team."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The priest wore a long white mantle over his robes.
Example 2: Our science teacher drew the Earth's crust, mantle and core on the board.
Example 3: Volcanoes bring up melted rock from deep in the mantle.
Fun Fact
The Earth's mantle is about 2,900 kilometres thick and makes up roughly 84 percent of the planet's volume.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to mantle as used in the sentence:
A thick mantle of snow covered the pine forests above Gulmarg.
a) hole
b) patch
c) blanket
d) gap
Show answer
c) blanket. A mantle of snow is a layer covering everything, which a blanket also is.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The old king threw a heavy velvet tlenam over his shoulders before stepping out into the cold.
a) lament
b) mental
c) mantle
d) mantel
Show answer
c) mantle. All four use the same six letters, but only a mantle, a cloak, goes over the shoulders; a mantel is a shelf over a fireplace.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. litosphere 2. mantle 3. tectonik 4. magmma
a) the hard outer layer of the Earth
b) relating to the movement of the Earth's plates
c) hot liquid rock below the Earth's surface
d) the thick layer of the Earth between the crust and the core
Show answer
d) the thick layer of the Earth between the crust and the core. Lithosphere needs its h after the t, magma has one m in the middle and tectonic ends in c; mantle is fine.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which word sounds like mantle but means a shelf above a fireplace?
a) manual
b) mantel
c) mangle
d) mental
Show answer
b) mantel
2. A king's mantle is a kind of ____.
a) throne
b) cloak
c) crown
d) sword
Show answer
b) cloak
