wire

[ wahyuhr ]

noun

1. a slender, stringlike piece or filament of relatively rigid or flexible metal, usually circular in section, manufactured in a great variety of diameters and metals depending on its application.
2. such pieces as a material.
3. a length of such material, consisting either of a single filament or of several filaments woven or twisted together and usually insulated with a dielectric material, used as a conductor of electricity.
4. a cross wire or a cross hair.
5. a barbed-wire fence.
6. a long wire or cable used in cable, telegraph, or telephone systems.
7. Nautical. a wire rope.
8. Informal.
   1. a telegram.
   2. the telegraphic system:

      to send a message by wire.

9. wires, a system of wires by which puppets are moved.
10. a metallic string of a musical instrument.
11. Underworld Slang. the member of a pickpocket team who picks the victim's pocket. Compare stall ²( def 5 ).
12. Horse Racing. a wire stretched across and above the track at the finish line, under which the horses pass.
13. Ornithology. one of the extremely long, slender, wirelike filaments or shafts of the plumage of various birds.
14. a metal device for snaring rabbits and other small game.
15. Papermaking. the woven wire mesh over which the wet pulp is spread in a papermaking machine.
16. the wire, the telephone:

    There's someone on the wire for you.

adjective

1. made of wire; consisting of or constructed with wires.
2. resembling wire; wirelike.

verb (used with object)

, wired, wir·ing.

1. to furnish with wires.
2. to install an electric system of wiring in, as for lighting.
3. to fasten or bind with wire:

   He wired the halves together.

4. to put on a wire, as beads.
5. to send by telegraph, as a message:

   Please wire the money at once.

6. to send a telegraphic message to:

   She wired him to come at once.

7. to snare by means of a wire.
8. to equip with a hidden electronic device, as an eavesdropping device or an explosive.
9. to connect (a receiver, area, or building) to a television cable and other equipment so that cable television programs may be received.
10. Informal. to be closely connected or involved with:

    a law firm wired into political circles.

11. Informal. to prepare, equip, fix, or arrange to suit needs or goals:

    The sales force was wired for an all-out effort.

12. Croquet. to block (a ball) by placing it behind the wire of an arch.

verb (used without object)

, wired, wir·ing.

1. to send a telegraphic message; telegraph:

   Don't write; wire.

wire

/ waɪə /

noun

1. a slender flexible strand or rod of metal
2. a cable consisting of several metal strands twisted together
3. a flexible metallic conductor, esp one made of copper, usually insulated, and used to carry electric current in a circuit
4. modifier of, relating to, or made of wire

   a wire fence

   a wire stripper

5. anything made of wire, such as wire netting, a barbed wire fence, etc
6. a long continuous wire or cable connecting points in a telephone or telegraph system
7. old-fashioned.
   1. an informal name for telegram telegraph
   2. the wire an informal name for telephone
8. a metallic string on a guitar, piano, etc
9. horse racing the finishing line on a racecourse
10. a wire-gauze screen upon which pulp is spread to form paper during the manufacturing process
11. anything resembling a wire, such as a hair
12. a snare made of wire for rabbits and similar animals
13. to the wire informal.
    to the wiredown to the wire right up to the last moment
14. get in under the wire informal.
    get in under the wire to accomplish something with little time to spare
15. get one's wires crossed informal.
    get one's wires crossed to misunderstand
16. pull wires
    pull wires to exert influence behind the scenes, esp through personal connections; pull strings
17. take it to the wire
    take it to the wire to compete to the bitter end to win a competition or title

verb

1. also intr to send a telegram to (a person or place)
2. to send (news, a message, etc) by telegraph
3. to equip (an electrical system, circuit, or component) with wires
4. to fasten or furnish with wire
5. often foll by up to provide (an area) with fibre optic cabling to receive cable television
6. to string (beads, etc) on wire
7. croquet to leave (a player's ball) so that a hoop or peg lies between it and the other balls
8. to snare with wire
9. wire in informal.
   wire in to set about (something, esp food) with enthusiasm

Derived Forms

• ˈwireˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• wira·ble adjective
• wirelike adjective
• de·wire verb (used with object) dewired dewiring
• mis·wire verb miswired miswiring
• pre·wire verb (used with object) prewired prewiring
• un·wira·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wire¹

before 900; Middle English wir ( e ) (noun), Old English wīr; cognate with Low German wīr, Old Norse vīra- wire, Old High German wiara fine goldwork

Word History and Origins

Origin of wire¹

Old English wīr; related to Old High German wiara, Old Norse vīra, Latin viriae bracelet

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. down to the wire, to the very last moment or the very end, as in a race or competition:

   The candidates campaigned down to the wire.

2. pull wires, Informal. to use one's position or influence to obtain a desired result:

   to pull wires to get someone a job.

3. under the wire, just within the limit or deadline; scarcely; barely:

   to get an application in under the wire.

More idioms and phrases containing wire

see down to the wire ; get one's wires crossed ; live wire ; pull strings (wires) ; under the wire .

Example Sentences

This 300 LED light set works for up to 15,000 hours and the wire won’t overheat over time.

From Popular-Science

Three years later, Jaka Tušek of the University of Ljubljana and others observed a change of 25 degrees in similar wires.

From Quanta Magazine

Having applied for financial aid only days before, she wired the money to the number the caller gave her.

From MIT Technology Review

In that dispute, the city says it actually costs much less to bury a mile of wire than SDG&E charged.

From Voice of San Diego

He’d carefully make the rounds, maneuvering around ventilators and webs of wires and hoses, doing anything he could in the minutes he had to lighten the load, if only briefly, for suffering families.

From FiveThirtyEight

And extortion makes a lot more sense before a story hits the news wire, not after.

From The Daily Beast

As zealots poured in from Arkansas and Mississippi, a wire service reporter got punched in the ribs.

From The Daily Beast

At that point, a tall, brown-haired man with wire-rimmed glasses came over to me, sat down, and peppered me with questions.

From The Daily Beast

To Hitchcock, this is not a sweet wire from an old colleague but a condolence letter on the occasion of his own death.

From The Daily Beast

On the day of the AFI dinner, Hitchcock receives a wire from Frank Capra, who is in Palm Springs.

From The Daily Beast

That the weather being calm, he rowed round me several times, observed my windows and wire-lattices that defenced them.

From Project Gutenberg

They require frequent cleaning with a long wire and a bit of tow, and in some large towns there are professional pipe-cleaners.

From Project Gutenberg

Wire Nails, Staples, &c., are made at Nettlefold's by machinery much in advance of what can ba seen elsewhere.

From Project Gutenberg

I need fourteen wire ropes, all pulling in different directions, to hold me steady.

From Project Gutenberg

The Post Office arrangements were also of a very primitive character, nor was there any wire nearer than Thetford.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cable
• coil
• line
• strand
• thread