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definitions

wired

[wahyuh rd]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wired ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

Origin of wired

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at wire, -ed3
Related formswell-wired, adjective

wire

[wahyuh r]

noun

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.
  1. a telegram.
  2. 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.Compare stall2(def 5).
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), wired, wir·ing.

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), wired, wir·ing.

to send a telegraphic message; telegraph: Don't write; wire.

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
Related formswir·a·ble, adjectivewire·like, adjectivede·wire, verb (used with object), de·wired, de·wir·ing.mis·wire, verb, mis·wired, mis·wir·ing.pre·wire, verb (used with object), pre·wired, pre·wir·ing.un·wir·a·ble, adjective
Can be confusedwhy're wire
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wired

tapped, connected, equipped, lined, stimulated, stoked, jazzed, bound, sent, excited, miked, edgy

Examples from the Web for wired

Contemporary Examples of wired

Historical Examples of wired

  • Among my other activities, I wired the parlor for electric light.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • Well, I gathered from the fact that you wired me to come home that you wanted my advice.

    The Fortune Hunter

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • I wired the news to the papers in Shoshone, so he must know.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

  • In reply to the telegram, Jimmy wired that he would be at the hotel at nine o'clock.

    People of Position

    Stanley Portal Hyatt

  • Soon's Mrs. Peabody wired you was goin' to ride, me and Ase started to meet you.

    Cy Whittaker's Place

    Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for wired

wired

adjective informal

edgy from stimulant intake
excited, nervous, or tense
using computers to send and receive information, esp via the internet

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 wirea 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
  1. an informal name for telegram, telegraph
  2. the wire an informal name for telephone
a metallic string on a guitar, piano, etc
horse racing, mainly US and Canadian 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
to the wire or down to the wire informal right up to the last moment
get in under the wire informal, mainly US and Canadian to accomplish something with little time to spare
get one's wires crossed informal to misunderstand
pull wires mainly US and Canadian to exert influence behind the scenes, esp through personal connections; pull strings
take it to the wire to compete to the bitter end to win a competition or title

verb (mainly tr)

(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
wire in informal to set about (something, esp food) with enthusiasm
Derived Formswirelike, adjective

Word Origin for wire

Old English wīr; related to Old High German wiara, Old Norse vīra, Latin viriae bracelet
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 wired
adj.

"nervous, jittery," by 1970s; earlier (1959, perhaps early 1950s) as "using narcotic drugs, addicted to drugs;" from past participle of wire (v.).

wire

n.

Old English wir "metal drawn out into a thread," from Proto-Germanic *wiraz (cf. Old Norse viravirka "filigree work," Swedish vira "to twist," Old High German wiara "fine gold work"), from PIE *wei- "to turn, twist, plait" (cf. Old Irish fiar, Welsh gwyr "bent, crooked;" Latin viere "to bend, twist," viriæ "bracelets," of Celtic origin). Wiretapping is recorded from 1904, from earlier wiretapper (1893). Wirepuller in the political sense is 1848, American English.

wire

v.

"to furnish with wires," mid-15c., from wire (n.). Related: Wired; wiring.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with wired

wire

see down to the wire; get one's wires crossed; live wire; pull strings (wires); under the wire.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.