sconce
/skɑns/
verb
- To impose a fine or penalty on someone, especially at a university or college.
- At Oxford, they used to sconce anyone who spoke Latin incorrectly at dinner.
- The college rules allow the master to sconce a member for disorderly conduct.
- The dean decided to sconce the students for breaking curfew.
Synonyms
noun
- A decorative bracket attached to a wall that holds a candle or light fixture.
- The hallway was lined with antique sconces holding electric candles.
- We installed a pair of wall sconces in the dining room for a cozy atmosphere.
- She hung a brass sconce beside the mirror to add soft lighting.
- A small fort or defensive structure, such as a blockhouse or earthwork.
- The ruins of a 17th-century sconce still stand near the river.
- The soldiers built a sconce on the hill to guard the pass.
- During the war, the old stone sconce served as a lookout post.
- A clever or witty remark; a quip.
- He responded with a quick sconce that made everyone laugh.
- The comedian's sconce earned him a round of applause.
- Her sconce about the weather broke the tension in the room.