tire

¹

[ tahyuhr ]

verb (used with object)

, tired, tir·ing.

1. to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary; fatigue (often followed by out ):

   The long walk tired him.

2. to exhaust the interest, patience, etc., of; make weary; bore:

   Your stories tire me.

   Synonyms: irk, exasperate

verb (used without object)

, tired, tir·ing.

1. to have the strength reduced or exhausted, as by labor or exertion; become fatigued; be sleepy.
2. to have one's appreciation, interest, patience, etc., exhausted; become or be weary; become bored (usually followed by of ):

   He soon tired of playing billiards.

noun

1. British Dialect. fatigue.

tire

²

[ tahyuhr ]

noun

1. a ring or band of rubber, either solid or hollow and inflated, or of metal, placed over the rim of a wheel to provide traction, resistance to wear, or other desirable properties.
2. a metal band attached to the outside of the felloes and forming the tread of a wagon wheel.

verb (used with object)

, tired, tir·ing.

1. to furnish with tires.

tire

³

[ tahyuhr ]

verb (used with object)

, tired, tir·ing.

1. Archaic. to dress (the head or hair), especially with a headdress.
2. Obsolete. to attire or array.

noun

1. Archaic. a headdress.
2. Obsolete. attire or dress.

tire

¹

/ ˈtaɪə /

noun

1. See tyre
   the US spelling of tyre

tire

²

/ ˈtaɪə /

verb

1. See attire
   an archaic word for attire

tire

³

/ ˈtaɪə /

verb

1. tr to reduce the energy of, esp by exertion; weary
2. tr; often passive to reduce the tolerance of; bore or irritate

   I'm tired of the children's chatter

3. intr to become wearied or bored; flag

Derived Forms

• ˈtiring, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tire¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English tire(n), teoren “to diminish, weaken,” Old English tȳrian, tēorian “to faint, cause to faint”; further etymology uncertain

Origin of tire²

First recorded in 1475–85; special use of tire ³ (in the sense “dress, attire, accouterment (for a wheel”)

Origin of tire³

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tire(n), teren “to clothe, dress, equip (a knight) for battle”; shortening of attire

Word History and Origins

Origin of tire¹

Old English tēorian, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Options include bigger tires, heated seats, Bose audio and more.

From Washington Blade

Six and half years had passed since the day she had crawled into the tire in the school yard and cried.

From ProPublica

Aftermarket tiresStock tires are probably the single biggest power-robbing items on your new ATV.

From Popular-Science

The debt-ridden telecom giant is reportedly looking to offload its DirecTV pay-TV business after having kicked the tires on selling it a year ago.

From Digiday

That’s not to say we don’t kick the tires on a few things at the end, but it’s pretty minimal, and it’s mostly to look at bugs and edge cases rather than to change our underlying assumptions.

From FiveThirtyEight

Who knew explaining how to change a tire and back out of a ditch could be so seductive?

From The Daily Beast

After a tire-puncturing spree in late October, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot dead by a police officer in Chicago.

From The Daily Beast

The two U.S. entities, along with the RDIF, last year acquired a majority interest in a leading Russian tire maker, Voltyre-Prom.

From The Daily Beast

The low crunch of packed dirt against rubber tire was overwhelmed by the ragged explosions of automatic gunfire.

From The Daily Beast

Eventually, even the most enthusiastic diner will tire of going to his restaurant.

From The Daily Beast

On the ground near the flattened tire lay a new one, just taken out of the brackets that had supported it.

From Project Gutenberg

Should he snap at the rear wheel and puncture the tire—Matt's thoughts could not carry the danger further.

From Project Gutenberg

All public pleasure has disappeared from among us, and we arrange parties and receptions that only tire ourselves and others.

From Project Gutenberg

"A machine has stopped here at the side of the road quite recently," Mr. Peck offered, pointing to the tire marks in the dust.

From Project Gutenberg

Jean blew out a tire finally, because of the glass, and they were obliged to walk the remainder of the way.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• annoy
• bore
• depress
• disgust
• dishearten
• dispirit
• displease
• drain
• exasperate
• fail
• fatigue
• irk
• irritate
• jade
• overwork
• wear
• worry