Hearth definition

(1) An open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built

"The fireplace was so large you could walk inside it"

"He laid a fire in the hearth and lit it"

"The hearth was black with the charcoal of many fires"

(2) Home symbolized as a part of the fireplace

"Driven from hearth and home"

"Fighting in defense of their firesides"

(3) An area near a fireplace (usually paved and extending out into a room)

"They sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire"