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Definition of wire noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

wire

noun
 
 
/ˈwaɪə(r)/
 
/ˈwaɪər/
Idioms
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  1.  
     [uncountable, countable] metal in the form of thin thread; a piece of this
    • a coil of copper wire
    • wire mesh
    • A high wire fence encircles the complex.
    • a wire basket
    • The box was fastened with a rusty wire.
    see also barbed wire, chicken wire, high wire, razor wire, tripwire, zip wire
    Extra Examples
    • Cool the cakes on a wire rack.
    • Surely the wires shouldn't show like that?
    • The wire was stretched between two poles.
    • wire coat hangers
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • taut
    • loose
    • fine
    • …
    … of wire
    • length
    • piece
    • strand
    • …
    verb + wire
    • cut
    • bend
    • twist
    • …
    wire + noun
    • mesh
    • netting
    • basket
    • …
    preposition
    • behind a/​the wire
    • under a/​the wire
    See full entry
  2.  
     [countable, uncountable] a piece of wire that is used to carry an electric current or signal
    • electrical wires
    • a spider's web of unsightly overhead wires
    • The telephone wires had been cut.
    see also fuse wire
    Wordfinder
    see also hot-wire
    Extra Examples
    • Don't place carpets over electrical wires.
    • Don't touch that wire. It's live.
    • He disconnected the wire from the clock.
    • The electrician ran a wire from the kitchen to the bedroom.
    • The wire was attached to a pin in the plug.
    • Watch out for bare wires.
    • overhead electricity wires
    • the flow of electrical current down a wire
    • I found myself tripping over a tangle of wires and cables.
    • There were wires trailing everywhere.
    • Where does this wire go?
    Topics Engineeringb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • electric
    • electrical
    • electricity
    • …
    verb + wire
    • attach
    • connect
    • disconnect
    • …
    wire + verb
    • go
    • lead
    • run
    • …
    preposition
    • along a/​the wire
    • down a/​the wire
    phrases
    • a tangle of wires
    See full entry
  3. an electronic listening device that can be hidden on a person
    • an undercover police informer who was wearing a wire
  4. the wire
     [singular] a wire fence
    • Three prisoners escaped by crawling under the wire.
    Extra Examples
    • Behind the wire, the prisoners were exercising.
    • They cut the perimeter wire and escaped.
  5. [countable] (informal, especially North American English) a telegram (= a message sent by telegraph and then printed and given to somebody)
    • We sent a wire asking him to join us.
    6. see also wiry
    Word OriginOld English wīr; of Germanic origin, probably from the base of Latin viere ‘plait, weave’.
Idioms
get your wires crossed
  1. (informal) to become confused about what somebody has said to you so that you think they meant something else
    • We seem to have got our wires crossed. I thought you were coming on Tuesday.
go, come, etc. (right) down to the wire
  1. (informal) if you say that a situation goes down to the wire, you mean that the result will not be decided or known until the very end
a live wire
  1. a person who is lively and full of energyTopics Personal qualitiesc2
pull wires (North American English)
(also pull strings (for somebody) British and North American English)
  1. (informal) to use your influence in order to get an advantage for somebody
under the wire
  1. (informal, especially North American English) at the last possible opportunity; just in time
    • The files arrived just under the wire and we made the deadline.
    • We got in under the wire.
See wire in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee wire in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: wire

Nearby words

dizzy
adjective
 
 
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