English
Noun
Wire (countable and uncountable; plural Wires)
- (uncountable) Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die.
- A piece of such material; a thread or slender rod of metal, a cable
- A metal conductor that carries electricity.
- A fence made of usually barbed wire.
- (sports) A finish line of a racetrack.
- (informal) A telecommunication wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph; a telegram
- (slang) A hidden listening device on the person of an undercover operative for the purposes of obtaining incriminating spoken evidence.
- (informal) A deadline or critical endpoint.
- This election is going to go right to the wire
- (billiards) A wire strung with beads and hung horizontally above or near the table which is used to keep score.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "wire"
Verb
Wire (third-person singular simple present Wires, present participle wiring, simple past and past participle wired)
- To fasten with wire, especially with reference to wine bottles, corks, or fencing.
- We need to wire that hole in the fence.
- 1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, 1992 Bantam edition, ISBN 0553278193, page 222:
- I could see him in his plane flying low over the river or a reservoir, dropping the club out with a chunk of lead wired to the shaft.
- To string on a wire.
- wire beads
- To equip with wires for use with electricity.
- To add something into an electrical system by means of wiring; to incorporate or include something.
- I'll just wire your camera to the computer screen.
- (informal) To send a message or a money value to another person through a telecommunications system, formerly predominately by telegraph.
- Urgent: please wire me another 100 pounds sterling.
- To make someone tense or psyched-up.
- I'm never going to sleep – I'm completely wired from all that coffee.
- (slang) To install eavesdropping equipment.
- We wired the suspect's house.
Synonyms
- (to equip for use with electricity): electrify
- (informal: to send a message or a money value to another person through a telecommunications system): cable, telegraph
Antonyms
Troponyms
- (to fasten with wire): rewire
- (to equip for use with electricity): rewire
Derived terms
Adjectives for Wire
vertical; braided; flaxen; silver; tattered;
telephone; leased; old-fashioned; singing;
magnetic; envious; flexible; gilded; cunning.
Verbs for Wire
base—; coat—; encase—; entwine—; fish with—; insulate—; tape—; —binds; — braces; —communicates with; —conveys;
—electrifies; —furnishes; —hums; —reinforces ; —transmits; —vibrates.
Thesaurus
BX cable, Teletype, armored cable, band, bandage, battery cable, bell wire, belt, bend, bind, bind up, brace, braid, brail, bundle, cable, cablegram, cannon, chain, cinch, coaxial cable, cord, cutpurse, day letter, dip, diver, do up, electric cable, electric cord, fast telegram, flash, gird, girdle, girt, girth, highline, hookup wire, lace, lash, lead, leash, ligament, ligation, ligature, line, night letter, power line, radio, radiogram, rope, send a wire, sign off, sign on, splice, spun yarn, strap, string, swaddle, swathe, telegram, telegraph, telegraph line, telephone line, telex, tendon, thong, three-wire cable, tie, tie up, transmission line, triaxial cable, truss, twine, twist, underground cable, wire line, wrap, wrap up, yarn
Etymology
Old English wīr < Proto-Germanic *wiraz < Proto-Indo-European *wei- ('to turn,' 'to twist,' 'to plait'). Cognate with Swedish vira ('to twist'), Latin vieo, viere ('to weave together'), Welsh gwyr ('bent'), and Greek ίρις ('rainbow').
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /waɪə/
-
- Rhymes: -aɪə(r)
Translations
Noun
metal conductor that carries electricity
fence made of usually barbed wire
sports: finish line of a racetrack
informal
: message transmitted by telegraph — see
telegram
slang: hidden listening device on the person
device used to keep the score in billiards
— see score string
- The translations below need to be checked.
Translations to be checked
See also
Verb
to equip with wires for use with electricity
to add something into an electrical system by means of wiring
informal: to send a message or a money value to another person through a telecommunications system
to make someone tense or psyched-up
slang: to install eavesdropping equipment
Anagrams
