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

Denver has had the biggest price declines in the starter tier of any region. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026

The rooms All 800 accommodations are notably spacious—even the lowest tier of guest rooms features a separate seating area and floor-to-ceiling windows—and select rooms afford views of the sculptural Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Mar. 2026

Verb

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

Comcast had wanted to tier the network to a more expensive sports bundle, forcing people who watched Yankees games to pay more, but YES argued Comcast doesn’t tier Mets’ network SNY because Comcast is a minority owner of SNY. —Alex Sherman,contessa Brewer, CNBC, 9 Jan. 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