Noun
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"