wireless

American  

[wahyuhr-lis] / ˈwaɪər lɪs /

adjective

1. having no wire.

2. noting or pertaining to any of various devices that are operated with or actuated by electromagnetic waves.

3. Chiefly British. radio.

---

noun

wirelesses plural

1. wireless telegraphy or telephony.

2. a wireless telegraph or telephone, or the like.

3. any system or device, as a cell phone, for transmitting messages or signals by electromagnetic waves.

4. a wireless message.

5. Chiefly British. radio.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to telegraph or telephone by wireless.

wireless British  

/ ˈwaɪəlɪs /

adjective

1. communicating without connecting wires or other material contacts

   wireless networks

   wireless internet connection

---

noun

1. old-fashioned another word for radio

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wirelessness
  noun
• prewireless
  adjective
• wirelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wirelesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wireless

First recorded in 1890–95; wire + -less

Example Sentences

BNP Paribas analyst Sam McHugh said in a note on Wednesday that the SpaceX-driven overhang on wireless stocks “may well persist” until next year, when the U.S. auctions off upper C-Band spectrum.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 2, 2026

With key associates, they built the nation’s foremost cable TV service — then the entertainment gateway — and grew stronger by offering internet, phone and then wireless service.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026

Exports of computers more than quadrupled from a year earlier in June, while shipments of wireless communication devices, including smartphones, jumped 51%, ministry data showed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

"Both cars and phones include mobile phone radios, satellite location chips, short-range wireless activity and sophisticated software," he said.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

A wireless in the landlady’s sitting room came on, and the laughter of an audience swelled as the valves warmed.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan