wire
Americannoun
-
wires
plural
-
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.
-
such pieces as a material.
-
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.
-
a cross wire or a cross hair.
-
a barbed-wire fence.
-
a long wire or cable used in cable, telegraph, or telephone systems.
-
Nautical. a wire rope.
-
Informal.
-
a telegram.
-
the telegraphic system.
to send a message by wire.
-
-
wires, a system of wires by which puppets are moved.
-
a metallic string of a musical instrument.
-
Underworld Slang. the member of a pickpocket team who picks the victim's pocket.
-
Horse Racing. a wire stretched across and above the track at the finish line, under which the horses pass.
-
Ornithology. one of the extremely long, slender, wirelike filaments or shafts of the plumage of various birds.
-
a metal device for snaring rabbits and other small game.
-
Papermaking. the woven wire mesh over which the wet pulp is spread in a papermaking machine.
-
the wire, the telephone.
There's someone on the wire for you.
adjective
-
made of wire; consisting of or constructed with wires.
-
resembling wire; wirelike.
verb (used with object)
-
wires,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wired,
past participle, past
-
wiring
present participle
-
to furnish with wires.
-
to install an electric system of wiring in, as for lighting.
-
to fasten or bind with wire.
He wired the halves together.
-
to put on a wire, as beads.
-
to send by telegraph, as a message.
Please wire the money at once.
-
to send a telegraphic message to.
She wired him to come at once.
-
to snare by means of a wire.
-
to equip with a hidden electronic device, as an eavesdropping device or an explosive.
-
to connect (a receiver, area, or building) to a television cable and other equipment so that cable television programs may be received.
-
Informal. to be closely connected or involved with.
a law firm wired into political circles.
-
Informal. to prepare, equip, fix, or arrange to suit needs or goals.
The sales force was wired for an all-out effort.
-
Croquet. to block (a ball) by placing it behind the wire of an arch.
verb (used without object)
-
wires,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wired,
past participle, past
-
wiring
present participle
idioms
-
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.
-
pull wires, to use one's position or influence to obtain a desired result.
to pull wires to get someone a job.
-
under the wire, just within the limit or deadline; scarcely; barely.
to get an application in under the wire.
noun
-
a slender flexible strand or rod of metal
-
a cable consisting of several metal strands twisted together
-
a flexible metallic conductor, esp one made of copper, usually insulated, and used to carry electric current in a circuit
-
(modifier) of, relating to, or made of wire
a wire fence
a wire stripper
-
anything made of wire, such as wire netting, a barbed wire fence, etc
-
a long continuous wire or cable connecting points in a telephone or telegraph system
-
old-fashioned
-
a metallic string on a guitar, piano, etc
-
horse racing the finishing line on a racecourse
-
a wire-gauze screen upon which pulp is spread to form paper during the manufacturing process
-
anything resembling a wire, such as a hair
-
a snare made of wire for rabbits and similar animals
-
informal right up to the last moment
-
informal to accomplish something with little time to spare
-
informal to misunderstand
-
to exert influence behind the scenes, esp through personal connections; pull strings
-
to compete to the bitter end to win a competition or title
verb
-
(also intr) to send a telegram to (a person or place)
-
to send (news, a message, etc) by telegraph
-
to equip (an electrical system, circuit, or component) with wires
-
to fasten or furnish with wire
-
(often foll by up) to provide (an area) with fibre optic cabling to receive cable television
-
to string (beads, etc) on wire
-
croquet to leave (a player's ball) so that a hoop or peg lies between it and the other balls
-
to snare with wire
-
informal to set about (something, esp food) with enthusiasm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
miswireverb
-
dewireverb (used with object)
-
prewireverb (used with object)
-
unwirableadjective
-
wirableadjective
-
wirelikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wiresimple
-
wiressimple
-
have wiredperfect
-
has wiredperfect
-
am wiringprogressive
-
are wiringprogressive
-
is wiringprogressive
-
have been wiringperfect progressive
-
has been wiringperfect progressive
Past
-
wiredsimple
-
had wiredperfect
-
was wiringprogressive
-
were wiringprogressive
-
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:
Makeshift barriers formed from shipping containers and razor wire to block traffic to Peshawar's administrative zone remained in place.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Dolly Parton’s estate has claimed that the late country music icon’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, went to extraordinary lengths to evade being served with a summons—including allegedly draping barbed wire around the entrance to his property.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Dolly Parton’s estate is alleging that Bryan Seaver, the country icon’s nephew and former head of security, used a “no trespassing” sign and barbed wire to avoid being served legal documents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Rush was initially charged with theft of public funds, but has now pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The nerve cell, or neuron, is a living, one-way wire with switches at both ends.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
You don’t have to think about it; your subconscious will reconnect those severed wires immediately.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Western Electric’s clear-cased Model 302 telephone enticed gawkers with an impressively complex system of wires and mechanisms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"The wires between these GPUs, CPUs, and all this compute are what's slowing us down," says Sharp.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Those channels can also hold extremely thin metal wires used to measure electrical activity in the brain.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
His face was deathly pale, and the lines of it were hard like drawn wires; the thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot metal.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
If asked, I probably would have told you I was feeling a little tired, wired, or off-kilter, so none of those readings were all that revelatory.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
The whole building is wired for video and audio, meaning artists can walk in, record a podcast, appear on a radio show, and live-stream a gig in the same day.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
"We know olfaction is powerfully wired into the brain's appetite and emotion networks, but surprisingly, no study has systematically looked at the three-way interaction between smell, appetite, and actual resistance exercise capacity," said Nashrudin Naharudin.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
On June 23, 2023, Molina wired $131,523 from the nonprofit’s bank accounts in Laguna Hills, according to the indictment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
By noon the chief of admissions, Horace Tucker, wired a message to fair headquarters, “The Paris record is broken to smithereens, and the people are still coming.”
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
As demand for optical and networking components has skyrocketed this year, shares of the companies that produce those components — like lasers, wiring and electronics — have staged major gains.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Meanwhile, up to 20 tonnes is used for the network wiring connecting up those computer servers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Together, the findings raise questions about how the physical structure of the brain's wiring helps regulate communication.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
An early store cost $950 to open: $740 for a secondhand ice-cream machine, $120 for rent and $90 for electrical wiring and decor, Zhang Hongfu wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
It still needs a roof and wiring, plumbing and floorboards, plus a lovely shade of paint.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
