wire

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

see also:

under the wire wire to wire

Synonyms of wire

• cable
• rope
• cord

Examples of wire in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

After his death, Ashe's lawyer DeMille (Oded Fehr) returns the video of Coop stealing that the billionaire had kept as blackmail, and wires Coop the $600 million that Coop had previously returned to Ashe's account. —Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026

Inmates reported limited access to hygiene supplies and noted that loose wires were hanging from the ceiling due to unfinished visitation kiosks during the first few days of operation. —Ben Wheeler june 4, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026

Consider storage containers for wires and electrical outlets, and organize visible pantry items in containers. —Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar, Architectural Digest, 4 June 2026

Beyond those features, the Captain's Crunch rounds out its list of 11 functions with regular pliers, standard and hard wire cutters integrated into the plier assembly, a wire stripper below on the swing arm between handles, and a pin vise function at the tips of the pliers. —New Atlas, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

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"

First Known Use

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

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

Rhymes for wire

• acquire
• attire
• bonfire
• campfire
• ceasefire
• conspire
• desire
• enquire
• entire
• greenbrier
• gunfire
• homebuyer

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