tier

[ teer ]

See synonyms for: tier tiers on Thesaurus.com

noun

one of a series of rows or ranks rising one behind or above another, as of seats in an amphitheater, boxes in a theater, guns in a man-of-war, or oars in an ancient galley.
one of a number of galleries, as in a theater.

a layer; level; stratum: The wedding cake had six tiers.All three tiers of the firm's management now report to one director.
Australian. a mountain range.

verb (used with object)

to arrange in tiers.

verb (used without object)

to rise in tiers.

Origin of tier

First recorded in 1560–70; earlier also tire, tyre, teare, from Middle French, Old French tire, tiere “order, row, rank,” from Germanic; compare Old English, Old Saxon tīr, Old High German zēri “glory, adornment”

Other definitions for tier (2 of 2)

tier²

[ tahy-er ]

noun

a person or thing that ties.
Nautical. a short rope or band for securing a furled sail.

New England. a child's apron or pinafore.

Origin of tier

First recorded in 1625–35; tie + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tier in a sentence

While currently free, Sunshine plans to add a paid tier of service sometime in the future.
Marissa Mayer launches her first startup | Lucinda Shen | November 18, 2020 | Fortune
Unclear, however, is whether Amazon will be able to sell HBO Max’s ad inventory after the streamer adds an ad-supported tier next year.
‘We get nothing’: Media companies want more detailed audience, revenue breakdowns from free, ad-supported streaming TV platforms | Tim Peterson | November 18, 2020 | Digiday
Now it’s time to build different tiers of your links that you can also use in your future content.
Top strategies behind link building success | Tereza Litsa | November 16, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
Digitization enables visibility into who supplies your suppliers and spots vulnerabilities hidden deep in the lower tiers of the network.
Why investing in supply chain resilience pays off | lbelanger225 | November 16, 2020 | Fortune
For perspective, the whole county had to go into the purple, most restrictive tier of lockdowns this week, because it had a case rate above 7 per 100,000 people.
Morning Report: County Must Provide COVID-19 Death Data | Voice of San Diego | November 13, 2020 | Voice of San Diego

A foot above the top of these, another line may be made; and so on, tiering them up to the height intended to devote to them.
Rural Architecture | Lewis Falley Allen

British Dictionary definitions for tier (1 of 2)

tier¹

/ (tɪə) /

noun

one of a set of rows placed one above and behind the other, such as theatre seats
- a layer or level
- (in combination): a three-tier cake

a rank, order, or row

verb

to be or arrange in tiers

Origin of tier

C16: from Old French tire rank, of Germanic origin; compare Old English tīr embellishment

British Dictionary definitions for tier (2 of 2)

tier²

/ (ˈtaɪə) /

noun

a person or thing that ties

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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