tether
Americannoun
-
tethers
plural
-
a rope, chain, or the like, by which an animal is fastened to a fixed object so as to limit its range of movement.
-
the utmost length to which one can go in action; the utmost extent or limit of ability or resources.
verb (used with object)
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tethers,
present (3rd person singular)
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tethered,
past participle, past
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tethering
present participle
-
to fasten or confine with or as if with a tether.
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Digital Technology. to use (an electronic device, usually a smartphone or tablet) to enable a wireless internet connection on another nearby device, often a laptop.
There's no Wi-Fi, so I'll have to tether my phone to my laptop.
verb (used without object)
-
tethers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tethered,
past participle, past
-
tethering
present participle
idioms
noun
-
a restricting rope, chain, etc, by which an animal is tied to a particular spot
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the range of one's endurance, etc
-
distressed or exasperated to the limit of one's endurance
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tethersimple
-
tetherssimple
-
have tetheredperfect
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has tetheredperfect
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am tetheringprogressive
-
are tetheringprogressive
-
is tetheringprogressive
-
have been tetheringperfect progressive
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has been tetheringperfect progressive
Past
-
tetheredsimple
-
had tetheredperfect
-
was tetheringprogressive
-
were tetheringprogressive
-
had been tetheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tether
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun); compare Old Norse tjōthr, Dutch tuier
Explanation
Both a verb and a noun, tether keeps things tied together, or is the tie itself. Remember, when you tether that chair to those balloons, use a strong tether. You don't want to drop from the sky because you tied them together using a cheap piece of rope. Think of the childhood game tether-ball. The ball is tethered to a pole by a tether. Tether usually refers to a rope or a chain, but it can also refer to an invisible bond or link. For example, the Internet can serve as a tether that links you to your pen pal in Germany. The love between a mother and her child keeps them tethered to each other for a lifetime. And whenever astronauts go for jaunts outside the space station, they tether themselves to the station using wires and a hook.
Vocabulary lists containing tether
The Cay
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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"Hitching a Ride"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest that the spiral forms as the embryo's body rapidly lengthens while its gut acts as a tether.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
At the film’s aching core is the romantic tether between the boys that refuses to die even in the face of gory attacks, painful betrayals and even uncertainty among the two of them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Whether your escape is sports, entertainment, gossip, conspiracy theories or mass hallucination, you can get lost to the point where there is no tether to reality at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
They have sleeping bags that tether to the wall to keep them from floating around the capsule.
From Barron's ● Apr. 4, 2026
He followed Kaz to the lip of the roof where Inej had secured a tether that ran from the top of the prison to the embassy sector roof below.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
His approach tethers DNA probes dubbed "Inverse Molecular Sentinels" to the points of star-shaped gold nanoparticles.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
Maybe best of all, a garden tethers us to others — friends and strangers alike — who tend their plots with equal fervor.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
The actors required harnesses and tethers attached to a gantry.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2024
And then when you factor our own story into what this piece already is, it tethers us to these characters in ways that feel very personal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
Mollie kept vigil over her mother, one of the last tethers to the tribe’s ancient way of life.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
"The shows driving the industry forward largely originate on streaming platforms, yet the awards themselves were tethered to broadcast television," Proulx said.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The underwater drone, tethered to the ship with cables and about the size of a small car, was just above the ocean floor as the researchers and pilots searched for furrows potentially left by whales.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Meir rode the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to the worksites, while Adenot remained tethered to the station.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
The original version of Atlas, reliant on heavy hydraulics and tethered to a cable, was unveiled by Boston Dynamics more than a decade ago as part of a U.S. military robotics competition for search-and-rescue operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
His face was rigid and his hands were tethered to his side.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Carney, on the sidelines, was pitching his ideas of tethering Canada closer to Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
It may now be tethering on the edge of a bigger drop.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026
Panahi has a knack for tethering simple narratives to larger political and social issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
You could, for instance, be charged for tethering your goat on a public street, fixing a leaky tap without a licence or not naming the owner of a building when asked.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
This was the moment of truth, the tethering of a truth and a he.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
