Meaning & use
wire
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A thin, flexible thread of metal, often used to carry electricity or hold things together.
Grammar: Can be countable (a wire) or uncountable when referring to the material (made of wire).
Patterns
- a piece of wire
- made of wire
- electrical wire
The bird sat on the telephone wire.
He used a piece of wire to fix the fence.
Copper wire is commonly used in electrical circuits.
verbtransitivebusinessfinance
To send money electronically from one bank account to another.
Grammar: Takes an object: wire money. Often followed by to: wire money to someone.
Patterns
- wire money
- wire money to someone
- wire someone money
She wired the funds to her brother's account.
Please wire the payment by Friday.
He wired me the money for the tickets.
verbtransitivetechnical
To connect something with wires, especially to provide electricity.
Grammar: Often used in the passive: The house is wired for cable.
Patterns
- wire something for something
- wire something up
- be wired for
The new building was wired for high-speed internet.
He wired the speakers to the amplifier.
The cottage isn't wired for electricity yet.
Word forms
| plural | wires |
|---|---|
| third person singular | wires |
| past tense | wired |
| past participle | wired |
| present participle | wiring |
Common combinations
- electrical wire
- The electrical wire was damaged by the storm.
- wire money
- I need to wire money to my landlord for the rent.
- a piece of wire
- She bent a piece of wire into a hook.
- wire transfer
- The bank charges a fee for a wire transfer.
- barbed wire
- The fence was topped with barbed wire.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cable
- A cable is usually thicker and may contain several wires; a wire is a single thin strand.
- cord
- A cord is a flexible covered wire used to connect appliances; wire often refers to the bare metal strand.
- transfer
- As a verb, transfer is the general word for moving money; wire specifically means sending it electronically between banks.
Word family
Commonly confused: wire or fire?
wire vs fire
Fire is burning; wire is a metal thread. They sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
I need to _____ some money to my sister to help pay for her course.
Choose one answer.
After need to, the base form wire is correct: need to wire money. Wiring is the -ing form, wired is past tense, and wires is third-person singular, none of which fit after to.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wire”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.