wire

1 of 2

noun

ˈwī(-ə)r 

often attributive

1

a

: metal in the form of a usually very flexible thread or slender rod

b

: a thread or rod of such material

2

a

: wirework

b

: the meshwork of parallel or woven wire on which the wet web of paper forms

3

: something (such as a thin plant stem) that is wirelike

4

wires plural

a

: a system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show

b

: hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization

5

a

: a line of wire for conducting electric current compare cord sense 3b

b

: a telephone or telegraph wire or system

especially : wire service

c

: telegram, cablegram

6

: fencing or a fence of usually barbed wire

7

a

: the finish line of a race

b

: the final decisive moment (as of a contest)

the negotiations came down to the wire

8

: wirehair

wirelike

ˈwī(-ə)r-ˌlīk 

adjective

wire

2 of 2

verb

wired; wiring

transitive verb

1

: to provide with wire : use wire on for a specific purpose

2

: to send or send word to by telegraph

3

: to connect by or as if by a wire

4

: to predispose, determine, or establish genetically or innately

controversy over the extent to which human violence is wired biologically

intransitive verb

: to send a telegraphic message

wirer

ˈwī(-ə)r-ər 

noun

Phrases

under the wire

1

: at the finish line

2

: at the last moment

wire to wire or from wire to wire

: from start to finish

led the race wire to wire

Synonyms

Noun

• cable
• cord
• lace
• lacing
• line
• rope
• string

Examples of wire in a Sentence

Noun

The flowers were bound together with thin wire.

There was a wire sticking out of the chair.

A telephone wire had fallen on the road during the storm.

A short black wire connects the computer's monitor to its keyboard.

The undercover officer wore a wire to her meeting with the drug dealer.

Verb

The house will be wired next week.

My room is wired for cable.

The microphone is wired to the speaker.

You can wire the generator to a car battery.

Her jaw was wired shut after the accident.

She wired the money home to Canada.

Can you wire me $300?

When you get in to town, wire me.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Bluetooth allows information such as music, messages and apps to be transferred without wires or the internet, making a great hands-free way to stay connected to the digital world. —Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 22 Apr. 2024

There’s always free agency and the mid-October waiver wire once cuts take place after training camp to scour for a backup shooting guard. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 22 Apr. 2024

Ochoa watched as the flames climbed up toward electrical wires hanging overhead between two street lamps. —Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2024

The city budget, unlike the state, follows the calendar year, and any savings on salting and plowing have flowed into other street operations, including an early start on alley repairs, as well as skyrocketing costs associated with copper wire theft. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 20 Apr. 2024

These can range from relatively standard looking headphones to wires jacked directly into a patient’s central nervous system. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 18 Apr. 2024

Image Today, Hawaii is reeling from its latest government corruption scandal, with state officials accused of taking bribes from Milton Choy, a prominent businessman who wore a wire for at least a year as part of a deal with the federal government. —Irene Casado Sanchez, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024

Williams spent Christmas on a ventilator, while also hooked up to a web of wires, beeping sensors and a tube to help keep her breathing. —Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

Thieves have also targeted copper wire and bronze plaques in the city, as in Los Angeles and other locales. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024

Verb

From November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired funds through his electronic devices and IP addresses to the bookie, authorities said. —Tony Saavedra, Orange County Register, 11 Apr. 2024

Sitting behind the Maples Pavilion scorer’s table in early January, Tara VanDerveer was wired after a midseason practice. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

From November 2021 to January 2024, Mizuhara wired more than $16 million in unauthorized transfers from a checking account belonging to Ohtani, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint. —Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024

According to psychologists, the human brain is wired to stereotype, as a way to categorize and process information. —Steven P. Dinkin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

In one prominent case, a finance manager at a Hong Kong bank wired about $25.6 million to fraudsters who used AI to pose as the worker’s bosses on a video call. —Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024

There are multitudes out there among us who are wired to think like Korbin Albert. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024

But in the end, only a fraction of it was wired, two sources say, much of it from Intel, which Forbes has learned invested $20 million, a fraction of what was reported. —Kenrick Cai, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

In the Montgomery County case, the victim wired her first payment of $331,817.54 to a gold dealer on Feb. 21. —Dan Morse, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English wir, wyre, going back to Old English wīr, going back to Germanic *wīra-, whence Middle Low German wire "flexible metal, filigree," Old Norse vír-, in víravirki "filigree work," and (with presumed lowering of ī to ē² before r) Old High German wiara, wiera "fine gold, ornament of gold filigree," going back to a nominal derivative with a suffix -r- from Indo-European *u̯ei̯H- "plait, wrap," whence Latin vieō, viēre "to plait, weave," Old Church Slavic poviti "to wrap up, bind," Lithuanian výti "to twist," and probably to Sanskrit vyayati "(it) covers, envelops," vīta- "covered, hidden"

Verb

Middle English *wiren (in past participle y-wyred), derivative of wyr, wire wire entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing wire

• baling wire
• barbed wire
• chicken wire
• concertina wire
• down-to-the-wire
• fly-by-wire
• from wire to wire
• high-wire
• high-wire act
• hot-wire
• live wire
• razor wire
• the wire
• trip wire
• under the wire
• went/came (right) down to the wire
• wire cloth
• wire cutters
• wire fox terrier
• wire fraud
• wire gauge
• wire gauze
• wire grass
• wire netting
• wire-puller
• wire recorder
• wire rope
• wire service
• wire to wire
• wire transfer
• wire wool

Kids Definition

wire

1 of 2 noun

ˈwī(ə)r 

1

a

: metal in the form of a usually flexible thread or slender rod

b

: a thread or rod of metal

2

a

: a line of wire for conducting electrical current

b

: a telephone or telegraph wire or system

c

: telegram, cablegram

3

a

: the finish line of a race

b

: the final moment

the game came down to the wire

wirelike

-ˌlīk 

adjective

wire

2 of 2 verb

wired; wiring

1

: to provide or equip with wire or electricity

wire a house

2

: to bind, string, or mount with wire

3

: to send or send word to by telegraph

wire me some money right away

Medical Definition

wire

noun

ˈwī(ə)r 

: metal thread or a rod used in surgery to suture soft tissue or transfix fractured bone and in orthodontic dentistry to position teeth

wire transitive verb

wired; wiring