wireless

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Working without a physical wire or cable, usually by using radio signals.

   Grammar: Often used before a noun: wireless network, wireless connection. Also after be: The system is wireless.

   Patterns

   • wireless connection
   • wireless network
   • go wireless

   The hotel offers free wireless internet in every room.

   We switched to a wireless mouse to reduce clutter on the desk.

   The wireless signal is weak in the basement.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountableBritishold-fashioned

   A radio or radio broadcasting system, especially in older British English.

   Grammar: This sense is old-fashioned; it can be countable (a wireless) or uncountable (on the wireless).

   Patterns

   • on the wireless
   • a wireless

   My grandfather listened to the news on the wireless every evening.

   In the 1930s, many families gathered around the wireless for entertainment.

Common combinations

wireless network

The wireless network covers the entire campus.

wireless connection

I lost my wireless connection when I went upstairs.

wireless technology

Wireless technology has made it easier to work from anywhere.

go wireless

The company decided to go wireless and removed all the old cables.

Synonyms and how they differ

cordless

Cordless means without a cord, especially for devices like phones or tools; wireless is broader and often refers to networks and signals.

radio

As a noun, radio is the modern word for the device or system; wireless in this sense is old-fashioned British English.

Opposites

Word family

wire noun

A thin metal thread that carries electricity or signals.

wired adjective

Connected by wires, or feeling nervous and energetic.

Commonly confused: wireless or wired?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “wireless”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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