# wire

> English word · Noun · IPA /waɪə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #3,460

## Definitions
1. Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die.
2. A piece of such material; a thread or slender rod of metal, a cable.
3. A metal conductor that carries electricity.
4. A fence made of usually barbed wire.
5. A finish line of a racetrack.
6. A telecommunication wire or cable.
7. An electric telegraph; a telegram.
8. A hidden listening device on the person of an undercover operative for the purposes of obtaining incriminating spoken evidence.
9. A deadline or critical endpoint.
10. A wire strung with beads and hung horizontally above or near the table which is used to keep score.
11. Any of the system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show; hence, the network of hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization; strings.
12. A pickpocket, especially one who targets women.
13. A covert signal sent between people cheating in a card game.
14. A knitting needle.
15. The slender shaft of the plumage of certain birds.
16. Clipping of wire service and/or newswire.

## Etymology
From Middle English wir, wyr, from Old English wīr (“wire, metal thread, wire-ornament”), from Proto-Germanic *wīraz (“wire”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁iros (“a twist, thread, cord, wire”), from *weh₁y- (“to turn, twist, weave, plait”).

## Easily confused with
- **WWE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wwe)
- **wit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wit)
- **woe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-woe)
- **wis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wis)
- **wiz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wiz)
- **wry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wry)
- **wor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wor)
- **wye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wye)
- **with** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-with)
- **work** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-work)
- **word** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-word)
- **wish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wish)
- **wise** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wise)
- **wore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wore)
- **worn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-worn)
- **woke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-woke)
- **worm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-worm)
- **wits** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wits)
- **wren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-wren)
- **Witt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wire-vs-witt)

## Common misspellings (5)
`iwre`, `wier`, `wirre`, `wrie`, `wwire`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wire