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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have tetheredperfect
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has tetheredperfect 3rd person singular
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are tetheringprogressive
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have been tetheringperfect progressive
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tetherssingular 3rd person
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am tetheringprogressive 1st person singular
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is tetheringprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been tetheringperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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tetheringparticiple
Past
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had tetheredperfect
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had been tetheringperfect progressive
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were tetheringprogressive plural
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was tetheringprogressive singular
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tetheredsimple
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tetheredparticiple
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.
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
They have sleeping bags that tether to the wall to keep them from floating around the capsule.
From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026
Crunch, as a sensation, sometimes works like a gentle tether back to appetite.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026
Hilary, however, feels "totally helpless" and at the end of her tether.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026
She imagined a door to the Otherworld with a tether of light wrapped around its handle.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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.
