chimney

chimney — noun

1. a tall vertical pipe or brick structure on top of a building that carries smoke

1.nounB2
Definition

a tall vertical pipe or brick structure on top of a building that carries smoke from a fireplace or heater up and out into the open air

Example

Smoke curled out of the chimney of the old stone farmhouse.

preposition pattern: chimney of [building]

Aiko watched the chimney sweep climb onto the roof with her brushes.

collocation: chimney sweep

Common collocations
  • brick chimney
  • stone chimney
  • factory chimney
  • chimney sweep
  • clean the chimney
  • chimney smoke
  • chimney pot
Synonyms
  • flue

    the inner channel inside a chimney rather than the whole visible structure

  • smokestack

    much taller and used for factories, power plants, or ships, not houses

  • stack

    shorter British term, common for industrial chimneys

Grammar Patterns

chimney + of + building

adjective + chimney

chimney + noun

Usage Note

Often combines with a building noun using 'of' (the chimney of the house) or as a compound modifier (factory chimney, brick chimney). The person who cleans chimneys is called a chimney sweep.

Common Mistakes

Water comes out of the chimney.
Smoke comes out of the chimney.
a chimney carries smoke and hot gases from a fire, not water.
The chimney is in the kitchen.
The chimney is on the roof above the kitchen.
the chimney is the visible pipe on the outside or top of a building, not the indoor fireplace.

2. a narrow vertical opening in a cliff face or rock wall that is just wide enough

2.nounC1
Definition

a narrow vertical opening in a cliff face or rock wall that is just wide enough for a climber to go up through

Example

The climbers took turns going up the narrow chimney in the rock face.

climbing term: narrow chimney

Leila squeezed through the chimney and emerged on a wide ledge.

verb pattern: squeeze through a chimney

Common collocations
  • narrow chimney
  • steep chimney
  • climb a chimney
  • chimney route
  • squeeze through a chimney
  • chimneying technique
Synonyms
  • crack

    any narrow opening in rock, not necessarily wide enough for a person to fit inside

  • fissure

    more technical geological term implying a split formed by natural forces

  • cleft

    wider than a crack, often V-shaped, but less commonly used in climbing contexts

Grammar Patterns

adjective + chimney

verb + through + chimney

Usage Note

Subject is almost always modified by an adjective (narrow, steep, difficult) or paired with a climbing verb (squeeze through, climb up, enter). This sense belongs to rock-climbing vocabulary and is rarely used in everyday conversation.

Common Mistakes

We entered the chimney of the cave.
We climbed up the chimney in the cliff.
a rock chimney is an open vertical crack in a cliff, not a passage inside a cave.

Word family

  • chimney sweep
    nounB2
  • chimney pot
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Chimney is the most general everyday term for the entire above-roof structure that carries smoke away from a fireplace or heater. A flue is the inner channel or lining inside the chimney itself — a single chimney may contain several flues, one for each fireplace. A smokestack is a very tall industrial chimney found on factories, power plants, or ships; it is far larger than a household chimney. A vent is a broader term for any opening that lets air or gas escape — bathroom vents, dryer vents, and stove vents are not called chimneys, though a chimney is a type of vent for smoke. For example: 'The inspector checked each flue inside the single brick chimney of the old inn.' 'Smoke poured from the ship's smokestack as it left the harbour.' 'Open the kitchen vent while you fry the fish.'

chimney ↗fluesmokestackvent ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • up the chimney
  • down the chimney
  • out of the chimney

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Chimney entered English through Old French 'cheminée' (a room with a fireplace), which came from Latin 'caminata' (a room heated by a furnace), derived from Latin 'caminus' (a furnace or forge), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek 'kaminos' (a furnace or oven).