Library / English Dictionary

WIRE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wire" is a kind of...):

ligament (any connection or unifying bond)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wire"):

baling wire (wire used to make bales)

barbed wire; barbwire (strong wire with barbs at regular intervals used to prevent passage)

haywire (wire for tying up bales of hay)

piano wire (thin steel wire of high tensile strength)

trip wire (a wire stretched close to the ground that activates something (a trap or camera or weapon) when tripped over)

Derivation:

wire (fasten with wire)

wire (string on a wire)

wiry (of or relating to wire)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A metal conductor that carries electricity over a distance

Synonyms:

conducting wire; wire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("wire" is a kind of...):

conductor (a device designed to transmit electricity, heat, etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wire"):

filament (a thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by the passage of an electric current)

booster cable; jumper cable; jumper lead; lead (a jumper that consists of a short piece of wire)

lead-in (wire connecting an antenna to a receiver or a transmitter to a transmission line)

patchcord (a length of wire that has a plug at each end; used to make connections at a patchboard)

telegraph line; telegraph wire; telephone line; telephone wire (the wire that carries telegraph and telephone signals)

Derivation:

wire (equip for use with electricity)

wire (provide with electrical circuits)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A message transmitted by telegraph

Synonyms:

telegram; wire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("wire" is a kind of...):

message (a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wire"):

cable; cablegram; overseas telegram (a telegram sent abroad)

letter telegram (a cheaper form of telegram that is sent abroad for delivery the next day)

night letter (a cheaper form of telegram sent for delivery the next day)

Derivation:

wire (send cables, wires, or telegrams)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The finishing line on a racetrack

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("wire" is a kind of...):

finish line; finishing line (a line indicating the location of the finish of a race)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Equip for use with electricity

Example:

electrify an appliance

Synonyms:

electrify; wire

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "wire" is one way to...):

accommodate; adapt (make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

wiring (the work of installing the wires for an electrical system or device)

wirer (a worker who installs and repairs electric wiring)

wire (a metal conductor that carries electricity over a distance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Send cables, wires, or telegrams

Synonyms:

cable; telegraph; wire

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "wire" is one way to...):

telecommunicate (communicate over long distances, as via the telephone or e-mail)

Domain category:

telegraphy (communicating at a distance by electric transmission over wire)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence examples:

They wire them the information

They wire the information to them

Derivation:

wire (a message transmitted by telegraph)

wirer (someone who sends a telegram)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Fasten with wire

Example:

The columns were wired to the beams for support

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wire" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

unwire (undo the wiring of)

Derivation:

wire (ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc)

Sense 4

Meaning:

String on a wire

Example:

wire beads

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "wire" is one way to...):

draw; string; thread (thread on or as if on a string)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

wire (ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide with electrical circuits

Example:

wire the addition to the house

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "wire" is one way to...):

equip; fit; fit out; outfit (provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "wire"):

rewire (provide with new wiring)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

wire (a metal conductor that carries electricity over a distance)

wirer (a worker who installs and repairs electric wiring)

wiring (a circuit of wires for the distribution of electricity)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The thickness of a wire or a similarly shaped object.

(Gauge, NCI Thesaurus)

Finally when I got your reply to my wire I came out to you, since I gather that you are a person who gives advice in difficult cases.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Once the wire is in the right place, the needle is removed and the wire is left in so the doctor will know where the abnormal tissue is.

(Needle-localized biopsy, NCI Dictionary)

Also called needle localization and wire localization.

(Needle/wire localization, NCI Dictionary)

I shall report to you any matter of interest occurring here, and shall wire you at once if there is anything of importance.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The wire is removed when a biopsy is done.

(Needle localization, NCI Dictionary)

A technique that uses electric current passed through a thin wire loop to remove abnormal tissue.

(LEEP, NCI Dictionary)

You may send a large wire or check to cover an obligation or receive a large sum from someone who owes you—or both.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The theory follows that the illusion occurred because our brains are wired to try to understand what we see by factoring context into our perception.

(Rosy health and sickly green: color associations play robust role in reading faces, National Institutes of Health)

Cdk5 is a gene that is important for the normal wiring of the brain during early development and may be involved in some neurodegenerative disorders, including ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

(NIH scientists search for the clocks behind aging brain disorders, National Institutes of Health)