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wire definition

wire (wīr)

noun

  1. metal that has been drawn into a very long, thin thread or rod, usually circular in cross section
  2. a length of this, used for various purposes, such as conducting electric current or stringing musical instruments
  3. wire netting or other wirework
  4. anything made of wire or wirework, as a telephone cable, a barbed-wire fence, or a snare
    1. telegraph reply by wire
    2. a telegram
  6. Slang a concealed microphone or recording device, carried or worn as for espionage or by undercover police
  7. ☆ Horse Racing a wire above the finish line of a race

Etymology: ME < OE wir, akin to LowG wīr < IE *weir- < base *wei-, to bend, turn > withe, Gr iris, rainbow, L vitis, vine

adjective

made of wire or wirework

transitive verb wired, wiring wir′·ing

  1. to furnish, connect, bind, attach, string, etc. with a wire or wires
  2. to supply with a system of wires for electric current
  3. to telegraph
  4. Archaic to snare with a wire or wires

intransitive verb

to telegraph

Related Forms:

wire Idioms

down to the wire

☆
to the very end or the very last moments

pull wires

☆

Etymology: from the wires used to operate puppets

to use private influence to achieve a purpose

(get in) under the wire

☆
(to arrive or accomplish something) barely on time or at the last minute

(from) wire to wire

Informal from start to finish
also wire-to-wire

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms wire idiom

telecom wire definition - telecom

wire Synonyms

wire

n.

  1. A metal strand

    line, electric wire, cable, aerial, circuit, wiring, live wire, coil, conductor, filament, musical string, wire tape, wire cord.

  2. A metal net

    barbed wire, wire fence, chicken wire, wirework, wire cage, wire basket, wire cloth, wire entanglement; see also fence 1, 2, net.

  3. *A telegraphic message

    cablegram, telegram, message, night message, night letter, code message.

down to the wire*

to the very end, to the bitter end, at the last, eventually; see finally 2.

get in under the wire*

just make it, succeed, just squeak through*; see arrive 1.

pull wires

exert influence, go to the right people, use pull*; see influence, manage 1.


wire

v.

  1. To install wire

    set up a circuit, install electricity, lay wires, connect electric cables, prepare for electrical service, pipe*, tie on the spiders*; see also electrify 1.

  2. *To send a message by wire

    telegraph, flash, file; see notify.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

wire Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • insulate: You have 110v AC in your hands, that's why I use an insulated wire.

Adjective modifier

  • barbed: The latter also had two strands of barbed wire strung along the top.

Modifies a noun

  • mesh: The audience enters to find bleak wire mesh framing a space which is bare apart from two wooden pallets.

Noun used with modifier

  • telegraph: PPPS - Could you indicate ( by drawing ) the course of the telegraph wires you mentioned?
wire usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

wire quotes

  the poet like an acrobat climbs on rime to a high wire of his own making.

-Ferlinghetti, Lawrence

Technology, while adding daily to our physical ease, throws dailyanother loop of fine wire around our souls. It contributes hugely to our mobility, which we must not confuse with freedom. The extensions of our senses, which we find so fascinating, are not adding to the discrimination of our minds, since we need increasingly to take the reading of a needle on a dial to discover whether we think something isgood or bad, or right or wrong.

-Stevenson, Adlai E(wing)

wire quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"wire." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/wire>

APA Style

wire. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/wire

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