Meaning & use
untether
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To release an animal or boat by undoing the rope or chain that holds it in place.
Grammar: Takes an object: untether the horse.
Patterns
- untether something from something
He untethered the goat so it could graze in the field.
The sailor untethered the boat from the dock.
She untethered the pony and led it to the water.
verbtransitivefigurative
To free someone or something from a limit, duty or attachment that held them back.
Grammar: Often followed by from: untether yourself from old habits.
Patterns
- untether someone from something
- untether yourself from something
Remote work untethered many employees from the city office.
The new law untethered the council from strict budgets.
She wanted to untether herself from her past mistakes.
verbtransitivetechnical
To disconnect a device from a cable or from a connection used to share internet or power.
Grammar: Often used with a phone, a camera or a drone.
Patterns
- untether something from something
The engineer untethered the camera from the laptop.
Software updates let you untether the headset from the console.
Word forms
| third person singular | untethers |
|---|---|
| past tense | untethered |
| past participle | untethered |
| -ing form | untethering |
Common combinations
- untether a horse
- She untethered the horse at dawn.
- untether from the past
- He tried to untether himself from the past.
- untether a boat
- They untethered the boat and drifted away.
- untether from the office
- The new laptops untethered staff from the office.
- completely untethered
- After the move, she felt completely untethered.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unleash
- This suggests releasing something strong and often dangerous, whereas untether can just mean letting go of a rope.
- liberate
- This is more formal and implies rescue from control, while untether is plainer and often physical.
- untie
- This is the everyday word for undoing a knot, while untether suggests freeing a tied animal or boat.
- detach
- This means separating one thing from another, and does not suggest the freedom that untether does.
Opposites
Word family
- tether verb
- to tie an animal or object with a rope
- tether noun
- a rope or chain that holds an animal
- untethered adjective
- free from ties or limits
- tethering noun
- sharing a phone's internet with another device
Commonly confused: untether or unfetter?
untether vs unfetter
Unfetter means to free from chains or restraints, and is more literary; untether suggests releasing a rope or tie.
Practice
Before sunrise, the farmer ___ the cow and led it to the meadow.
Choose one answer.
Untethered is the past tense, meaning he freed the cow from its rope. Tethered would mean tying it up, and the other options are not past-tense forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “untether”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.