tier

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈtir 

1

a

: a row, rank, or layer of articles

especially : one of two or more rows, levels, or ranks arranged one above another

b

: a group of political or geographic divisions that form a row across the map

the southern tier of states

2

: class, category

tier

2 of 3

verb

tiered; tiering; tiers

transitive verb

: to place or arrange in tiers

intransitive verb

: to rise in tiers

tier

3 of 3

noun (2)

ti·​er ˈtī(-ə)r 

variants or tyer

: one that ties

Synonyms of tier

Noun (1)

• type
• category
• kind

Examples of tier in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the bottom tier of entrants

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His career began with Sportfreunde Siegen all the way down in the Oberliga Westfalen, the fifth tier of German football. —Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026

Top tiers of Iran’s leadership, including the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been eliminated since the war started, while its navy and air force are in tatters, according to Washington. —Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2026

Verb

Since 2018 the Navy and shipbuilders have awarded supplier development funding (SDF) primarily to tier two and tier three suppliers, for improving the health of the submarine supplier base. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 21 Mar. 2026

Well, let’s try to tier the best teams by contender status, among this week’s 10 thoughts. —Brendan Marks, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle French tire rank, from Old French — more at attire

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1889, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

1633, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tier

• top-tier

Rhymes for tier

• beer
• bier
• cheer
• clear
• dear
• deer
• drear
• ear
• fear
• fier
• gear
• hear

Kids Definition

tier

1 of 3 noun

ˈti(ə)r 

: a row, rank, or layer usually arranged in a series one above the other

tiered

ˈti(ə)rd

adjective

tier

2 of 3 verb

1

: to place or arrange in tiers

2

: to rise in tiers

tier

3 of 3 noun

ti·​er

variants or tyer

ˈtī(-ə)r

: a person or thing that ties