<p><strong>noun</strong></p><ul><li>a loose, sleeveless cloak or cape.</li><li>something that covers, envelops, or conceals: The well-known street was made unfamiliar by the mantle of darkness.</li><li>Geology: the portion of the earth, about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) thick, between the crust and the core.</li><li>a role or position, or the activities and responsibilities that come with that role or position: The founder's granddaughter assumes the mantle of CEO this month.</li><li>Zoology: a single or paired outgrowth of the body wall that lines the inner surface of the valves of the shell in mollusks and brachiopods.</li><li>a construction framing the opening of a fireplace; mantel.</li></ul><p><strong>verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object) to cover with or as if with a cloak or cape; envelop; conceal: The peak of the mountain was mantled by clouds.</li><li>(used without object) to spread or cover a surface: Behold the mercy of God mantling over all the earth.</li></ul>