tether
Americannoun
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a rope, chain, or the like, by which an animal is fastened to a fixed object so as to limit its range of movement.
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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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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)
idioms
noun
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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
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distressed or exasperated to the limit of one's endurance
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tethersimple
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tetherssimple
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have tetheredperfect
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has tetheredperfect
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am tetheringprogressive
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are tetheringprogressive
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is tetheringprogressive
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have been tetheringperfect progressive
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has been tetheringperfect progressive
Past
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tetheredsimple
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had tetheredperfect
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was tetheringprogressive
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were tetheringprogressive
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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:
I wanted a little culinary tether, some proof of belonging, the opportunity to say, “Oh, yeah, I know a place, too.”
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 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
The drone that led Gauntlet I was Shrike, a first-person-view, or FPV, strike drone using a 12-mile fiber-optic tether.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
She said she had been at the end of her tether, feeling dizzy and her headlight had gone out.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
If he used too little, the tether would run out before they matched speeds, then jerk to a hard stop at the end, which would also rip it out of Beck's suit clips.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Since his family is gone, nothing tethers him to his human life.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2025
His approach tethers DNA probes dubbed "Inverse Molecular Sentinels" to the points of star-shaped gold nanoparticles.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024
To support them, he anchors parallel rows of eight- or 10-foot canes into the ground, about eight inches apart within each row, and then tethers the rows together with a bamboo crossbar near the top.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
The appeal is more than an aesthetic; it tethers us to our culture and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
She seemed restless and pulled at her tethers.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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
"People are moving away from the traditional mindset that certain jobs must be tethered to a specific gender," Chen Ning, the 27-year-old founder, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Blakesley said they padded out a rubble sack and tethered it to rope so it would float, before using a sample pole to gently nudge the eggs into the bag.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Soccer logo and tethered to a rise just outside the stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
Coins of fire ignited the mullet’s back as two shrimp boats slid past ringing buoys, tethered yachts, and storefronts.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
As a result, more companies are changing their business models, raising gobs of cash and tethering their fortunes to the fate of AI behemoths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
It may now be tethering on the edge of a bigger drop.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026
"The fact that our unbiased screen for mitochondrial tethering to the cytoskeleton identified a protein linked to neurodegenerative disease suggests that mitochondrial stabilization is a critical element in neuronal function and health," described Dr. Rangaraju.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2024
He said that at about 11:00 BST "a sudden rain and wind storm ripped us away from our dockside moorings, breaking tethering lines, water hoses, and causing the walkway to fall into the sea".
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2023
The orphanage was the last bit of twine tethering her to New York City, and now it was gone.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
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.
