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.

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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

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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

There’s the Total Wireless Weigh-In, which allows fans to take shirtless pictures of themselves flexing the way fighters do at weigh-in the day before they fight.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026

Wireless carriers said this enforcement system violated their right to a trial by jury.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Neither Glastonbury nor Wireless are holding an event this year so we have looked at the change between 2013 and 2025.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

Wireless networks are now common in homes, offices, restaurants, airports, and public spaces across the world, giving this technology potentially enormous reach.

From Science Daily • May 23, 2026

Wireless communication had been cut, but wired communication was still working fine.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown