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tire1

[tahyuh r]
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verb (used with object), tired, tir·ing.
  1. to reduce or exhaust the strength of, as by exertion; make weary; fatigue: The long walk tired him.
  2. to exhaust the interest, patience, etc., of; make weary; bore: Your stories tire me.
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verb (used without object), tired, tir·ing.
  1. to have the strength reduced or exhausted, as by labor or exertion; become fatigued; be sleepy.
  2. to have one's appreciation, interest, patience, etc., exhausted; become or be weary; become bored (usually followed by of): He soon tired of playing billiards.
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noun
  1. British Dialect. fatigue.
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Origin of tire1

before 900; late Middle English (Scots) tyren (v.), Old English tȳrian, variant of tēorian to weary, be wearied

Synonyms

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2. exasperate, irk.

tire2

[tahyuh r]
noun
  1. a ring or band of rubber, either solid or hollow and inflated, or of metal, placed over the rim of a wheel to provide traction, resistance to wear, or other desirable properties.
  2. a metal band attached to the outside of the felloes and forming the tread of a wagon wheel.
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verb (used with object), tired, tir·ing.
  1. to furnish with tires.
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Also British, tyre.

Origin of tire2

First recorded in 1475–85; special use of tire3

tire3

[tahyuh r]
verb (used with object), tired, tir·ing.
  1. Archaic. to dress (the head or hair), especially with a headdress.
  2. Obsolete. to attire or array.
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noun
  1. Archaic. a headdress.
  2. Obsolete. attire or dress.
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Origin of tire3

1300–50; Middle English; aphetic variant of attire
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tire

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Would he annoy her, enrage her perhaps, or even worse, tire her?

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Cost me thirteen dollars to repair one; vulcanize the tire, y'see.

  • Why didn't he go outside and get things ready for the tire setting?

  • I couldn't be a doll, for men to look at and then tire of me.

  • Or they might tire of the Nile, and wish to tear back to Cairo by train.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for tire

tire1

verb
  1. (tr) to reduce the energy of, esp by exertion; weary
  2. (tr; often passive) to reduce the tolerance of; bore or irritateI'm tired of the children's chatter
  3. (intr) to become wearied or bored; flag
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Derived Formstiring, adjective

Word Origin

Old English tēorian, of unknown origin

tire2

noun, verb
  1. the US spelling of tyre
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tire3

verb, noun
  1. an archaic word for attire
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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

Word Origin and History for tire

v.

"to weary," also "to become weary," Old English teorian (Kentish tiorian), of unknown origin, not found outside English. Related: Tired; tiring.

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n.

late 15c., "iron rim of a carriage wheel," probably from tire "equipment, dress, covering" (c.1300), a shortened form of attire. The notion is of the tire as the dressing of the wheel. The original spelling was tyre, which had shifted to tire in 17c.-18c., but since early 19c. tyre has been revived in Great Britain and become standard there. Rubber ones, for bicycles (later automobiles) are from 1870s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper