Meaning & use
tether
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Meanings
nouncountable
A rope or chain that fastens an animal or object to a fixed point and limits how far it can go.
Grammar: Countable: the horse pulled at its tether.
Patterns
- on a tether
- a tether for something
The goat was kept on a long tether in the field.
A tether secured the boat to the dock.
The astronaut's tether kept her connected to the station.
verbtransitive
To tie an animal or object to something so that it cannot move far.
Grammar: Takes an object: tether the horse to the post.
Patterns
- tether something to something
- tether something with something
He tethered the donkey to a fence post.
The kayaks were tethered together with rope.
Campers tether their tents against the wind.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputing
To use a phone as a connection that shares its mobile data with another device such as a laptop.
Grammar: Used with or without an object: tether your laptop to your phone, or you can tether when there is no wifi.
Patterns
- tether something to something
- tether to something
I tethered my laptop to my phone because the wifi was down.
Some data plans do not allow you to tether.
You can tether the tablet to the phone via a cable.
Word forms
| plural | tethers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | tethers |
| past tense | tethered |
| past participle | tethered |
| -ing form | tethering |
Common combinations
- the end of your tether
- After weeks of noise, I was at the end of my tether.
- tether a horse
- He tethered the horse beside the stream.
- a long tether
- The dog ran in circles on a long tether.
- break free from a tether
- The balloon broke free from its tether.
- tether to a phone
- You can tether your laptop to a phone for internet access.
Synonyms and how they differ
- leash
- A leash is held by a person to control a dog, while a tether is fixed to a stake or post.
- rope
- Rope is a general word for thick cord, while tether names its purpose of holding something in place.
- hitch
- Hitch, as a verb, means to fasten something quickly to a post or vehicle, and it is less about limiting movement.
- tie
- Tie is the everyday verb, while tether usually implies an animal or a long cord.
Opposites
Word family
- tethered adjective
- fastened to something by a rope or connection
- tethering noun
- the act of tying, or sharing a phone's connection
- untether verb
- to untie from a tether
- tetherball noun
- a game with a ball on a rope attached to a pole
Commonly confused: tether or teether?
tether vs teether
A teether is a ring a baby chews when teething. A tether is a rope used to fasten something.
Practice
By the end of the week, with no help from the staff, the manager was at the end of her ___.
Choose one answer.
At the end of your tether means out of patience or strength. The other words do not form the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tether”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.