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wire
[ wahyuhr ]
noun
- a slender, stringlike piece or filament of relatively rigid or flexible metal, usually circular in section, manufactured in a great variety of diameters and metals depending on its application.
- such pieces as a material.
- a length of such material, consisting either of a single filament or of several filaments woven or twisted together and usually insulated with a dielectric material, used as a conductor of electricity.
- a cross wire or a cross hair.
- a barbed-wire fence.
- a long wire or cable used in cable, telegraph, or telephone systems.
- Nautical. a wire rope.
- Informal.
- a telegram.
- the telegraphic system:
to send a message by wire.
- wires, a system of wires by which puppets are moved.
- a metallic string of a musical instrument.
- Underworld Slang. the member of a pickpocket team who picks the victim's pocket. Compare stall 2( def 5 ).
- Horse Racing. a wire stretched across and above the track at the finish line, under which the horses pass.
- Ornithology. one of the extremely long, slender, wirelike filaments or shafts of the plumage of various birds.
- a metal device for snaring rabbits and other small game.
- Papermaking. the woven wire mesh over which the wet pulp is spread in a papermaking machine.
- the wire, the telephone:
There's someone on the wire for you.
adjective
- made of wire; consisting of or constructed with wires.
- resembling wire; wirelike.
verb (used with object)
- to furnish with wires.
- to install an electric system of wiring in, as for lighting.
- to fasten or bind with wire:
He wired the halves together.
- to put on a wire, as beads.
- to send by telegraph, as a message:
Please wire the money at once.
- to send a telegraphic message to:
She wired him to come at once.
- to snare by means of a wire.
- to equip with a hidden electronic device, as an eavesdropping device or an explosive.
- to connect (a receiver, area, or building) to a television cable and other equipment so that cable television programs may be received.
- Informal. to be closely connected or involved with:
a law firm wired into political circles.
- Informal. to prepare, equip, fix, or arrange to suit needs or goals:
The sales force was wired for an all-out effort.
- Croquet. to block (a ball) by placing it behind the wire of an arch.
verb (used without object)
- to send a telegraphic message; telegraph:
Don't write; wire.
wire
/ waɪə /
noun
- a slender flexible strand or rod of metal
- a cable consisting of several metal strands twisted together
- a flexible metallic conductor, esp one made of copper, usually insulated, and used to carry electric current in a circuit
- modifier of, relating to, or made of wire
a wire stripper
a wire fence
- anything made of wire, such as wire netting, a barbed wire fence, etc
- a long continuous wire or cable connecting points in a telephone or telegraph system
- old-fashioned.
- an informal name for telephone
- a metallic string on a guitar, piano, etc
- horse racing the finishing line on a racecourse
- a wire-gauze screen upon which pulp is spread to form paper during the manufacturing process
- anything resembling a wire, such as a hair
- a snare made of wire for rabbits and similar animals
- to the wire or down to the wire informal.right up to the last moment
- get in under the wire informal.to accomplish something with little time to spare
- get one's wires crossed informal.to misunderstand
- pull wiresto exert influence behind the scenes, esp through personal connections; pull strings
- take it to the wireto compete to the bitter end to win a competition or title
verb
- also intr to send a telegram to (a person or place)
- to send (news, a message, etc) by telegraph
- to equip (an electrical system, circuit, or component) with wires
- to fasten or furnish with wire
- often foll by up to provide (an area) with fibre optic cabling to receive cable television
- to string (beads, etc) on wire
- croquet to leave (a player's ball) so that a hoop or peg lies between it and the other balls
- to snare with wire
- wire in informal.to set about (something, esp food) with enthusiasm
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Derived Forms
- ˈwireˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From
- wira·ble adjective
- wirelike adjective
- de·wire verb (used with object) dewired dewiring
- mis·wire verb miswired miswiring
- pre·wire verb (used with object) prewired prewiring
- un·wira·ble adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of wire1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of wire1
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Idioms and Phrases
- down to the wire, to the very last moment or the very end, as in a race or competition:
The candidates campaigned down to the wire.
- pull wires, Informal. to use one's position or influence to obtain a desired result:
to pull wires to get someone a job.
- under the wire, just within the limit or deadline; scarcely; barely:
to get an application in under the wire.
More idioms and phrases containing wire
see down to the wire ; get one's wires crossed ; live wire ; pull strings (wires) ; under the wire .Discover More
Example Sentences
And extortion makes a lot more sense before a story hits the news wire, not after.
As zealots poured in from Arkansas and Mississippi, a wire service reporter got punched in the ribs.
At that point, a tall, brown-haired man with wire-rimmed glasses came over to me, sat down, and peppered me with questions.
To Hitchcock, this is not a sweet wire from an old colleague but a condolence letter on the occasion of his own death.
On the day of the AFI dinner, Hitchcock receives a wire from Frank Capra, who is in Palm Springs.
That the weather being calm, he rowed round me several times, observed my windows and wire-lattices that defenced them.
They require frequent cleaning with a long wire and a bit of tow, and in some large towns there are professional pipe-cleaners.
Wire Nails, Staples, &c., are made at Nettlefold's by machinery much in advance of what can ba seen elsewhere.
I need fourteen wire ropes, all pulling in different directions, to hold me steady.
The Post Office arrangements were also of a very primitive character, nor was there any wire nearer than Thetford.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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