Definition of "sconce" in English

noun

1. A fixture for a light, which holds it and provides a screen against wind or against a naked flame or lightbulb.

noun

1. A head or a skull.

2. A poll tax; a mulct or fine.

3. (Oxford University slang) An act of sconcing; very similar to a fine at Cambridge University, though a sconce is the act of issuing a penalty rather than the penalty itself.

   • .

verb

1. (obsolete) To impose a fine, a forfeit, or a mulct.

2. (Oxford University slang) During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to announce some (usually outrageous) deed such that anyone who has done it must drink; similar to I have never; commonly associated with crewdates; very similar to fining at Cambridge University.

   • I sconce anyone who has ever…

noun

1. A type of small fort or other fortification, especially as built to defend a pass or ford.

2. (obsolete) A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.

3. (architecture) A squinch.

4. A fragment of a floe of ice.

5. A fixed seat or shelf.

verb

1. (obsolete) to shut within a sconce; to imprison.