wire
Americannoun
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a slender, stringlike piece or filament of relatively rigid or flexible metal, usually circular in section, manufactured in a great variety of diameters and metals depending on its application.
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such pieces as a material.
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a length of such material, consisting either of a single filament or of several filaments woven or twisted together and usually insulated with a dielectric material, used as a conductor of electricity.
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a cross wire or a cross hair.
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a barbed-wire fence.
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a long wire or cable used in cable, telegraph, or telephone systems.
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Nautical. a wire rope.
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Informal.
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a telegram.
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the telegraphic system.
to send a message by wire.
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wires, a system of wires by which puppets are moved.
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a metallic string of a musical instrument.
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Underworld Slang. the member of a pickpocket team who picks the victim's pocket.
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Horse Racing. a wire stretched across and above the track at the finish line, under which the horses pass.
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Ornithology. one of the extremely long, slender, wirelike filaments or shafts of the plumage of various birds.
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a metal device for snaring rabbits and other small game.
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Papermaking. the woven wire mesh over which the wet pulp is spread in a papermaking machine.
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the wire, the telephone.
There's someone on the wire for you.
adjective
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made of wire; consisting of or constructed with wires.
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resembling wire; wirelike.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with wires.
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to install an electric system of wiring in, as for lighting.
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to fasten or bind with wire.
He wired the halves together.
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to put on a wire, as beads.
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to send by telegraph, as a message.
Please wire the money at once.
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to send a telegraphic message to.
She wired him to come at once.
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to snare by means of a wire.
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to equip with a hidden electronic device, as an eavesdropping device or an explosive.
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to connect (a receiver, area, or building) to a television cable and other equipment so that cable television programs may be received.
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Informal. to be closely connected or involved with.
a law firm wired into political circles.
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Informal. to prepare, equip, fix, or arrange to suit needs or goals.
The sales force was wired for an all-out effort.
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Croquet. to block (a ball) by placing it behind the wire of an arch.
verb (used without object)
idioms
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down to the wire, to the very last moment or the very end, as in a race or competition.
The candidates campaigned down to the wire.
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pull wires, to use one's position or influence to obtain a desired result.
to pull wires to get someone a job.
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under the wire, just within the limit or deadline; scarcely; barely.
to get an application in under the wire.
noun
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a slender flexible strand or rod of metal
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a cable consisting of several metal strands twisted together
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a flexible metallic conductor, esp one made of copper, usually insulated, and used to carry electric current in a circuit
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(modifier) of, relating to, or made of wire
a wire fence
a wire stripper
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anything made of wire, such as wire netting, a barbed wire fence, etc
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a long continuous wire or cable connecting points in a telephone or telegraph system
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old-fashioned
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a metallic string on a guitar, piano, etc
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horse racing the finishing line on a racecourse
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a wire-gauze screen upon which pulp is spread to form paper during the manufacturing process
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anything resembling a wire, such as a hair
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a snare made of wire for rabbits and similar animals
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informal right up to the last moment
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informal to accomplish something with little time to spare
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informal to misunderstand
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to exert influence behind the scenes, esp through personal connections; pull strings
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to compete to the bitter end to win a competition or title
verb
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(also intr) to send a telegram to (a person or place)
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to send (news, a message, etc) by telegraph
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to equip (an electrical system, circuit, or component) with wires
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to fasten or furnish with wire
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(often foll by up) to provide (an area) with fibre optic cabling to receive cable television
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to string (beads, etc) on wire
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croquet to leave (a player's ball) so that a hoop or peg lies between it and the other balls
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to snare with wire
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informal to set about (something, esp food) with enthusiasm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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miswireverb
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dewireverb (used with object)
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prewireverb (used with object)
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unwirableadjective
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wirableadjective
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wirelikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wiresimple
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wiressimple
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have wiredperfect
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has wiredperfect
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am wiringprogressive
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are wiringprogressive
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is wiringprogressive
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have been wiringperfect progressive
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has been wiringperfect progressive
Past
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wiredsimple
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had wiredperfect
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was wiringprogressive
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were wiringprogressive
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had been wiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wire
before 900; Middle English wir ( e ) (noun), Old English wīr; cognate with Low German wīr, Old Norse vīra- wire, Old High German wiara fine goldwork
Explanation
A thin piece of metal that you can bend is a wire. Wire is used for carrying phone signals and electricity, and also to make Slinky toys and abstract sculptures. If you wear braces, you might even have wire in your mouth. Most wire is a tubular strand of metal, like the wire in jewelry or in the fence around your chicken coop. There's also braided wire coated in protective plastic to make cables for connecting electronic equipment or transmitting signals. In the old days, you might've sent a wire, or telegram, to a friend. And if you wear a wire, that's a secret recording device. As a verb, wire originally meant "adorn with gold wire." Today it means "install wires" like when you wire a new house for electricity.
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:
You might think of a cable as a wire but it is actually a bundle of wires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Cottrell, or "Posh George" as the paper refers to him, admitted a count of wire fraud in the US in 2017.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Cottrell pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the United States in 2017 and was jailed for eight months, according to British media.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
Instead of the protective fortification of concrete barriers and razor wire, the National Mall is marked by a sprawling, deliberate openness.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
He shows me how to hold it, how I need to keep my arms strong for the kickback, then he turns on the air compressor and gets in position to hold the wire.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
"Buildings will still have pipes running through them, they'll still have wires running through them," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Stellantis is sourcing parts that eliminate all those wires and boxes for the vehicles it plans to sell commercially.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Written by Jimmy Webb and released in 1968, it tells the lonely story of a laborer in Kansas who imagines the voice of the woman who got away humming down the endless telephone wires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
My left arm and hand are enveloped in a mass of probes, wires, gizmos and cuffs.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
He helped her fasten it to the raft and run wires to the small rudder in the back.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Fellow economists Marina Gertsberg, Ekaterina Volkova and I found that the disgraced financier effectively wired corporate America into a denser, more tightly interconnected network.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
“They’re pretty wired up,” Birkey said, adding that the plane may have been equipped with additional sensors to record information.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
We’re wired to pay more attention to bad news, and that kind of content will find its way to us one way or another.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
We’re just not wired to think about mean reversion.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
Fumbling with the bag, he pulled out three flat jewelry cards—each gray plastic, covered in gray fuzz on one side, with a small charm wired in place.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
The new 6th Street Bridge, hailed as a civic landmark just steps away, was promptly stripped of its wiring by vandals and now sits pitch black at night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
In my adolescence, I wasn’t very good with new people, and my introversion was partly due to wiring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
For investors hunting the Tier 1 suppliers of physical AI, the layers Nvidia is wiring up sort into a few buckets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Auto makers are increasingly using aluminum wiring due to copper prices rising over 20% and aluminum over 100% in a year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
“At each ring setting, the wiring inside the rotor changes,” Beryl says.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
