- wire
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 metal as thin threadADJECTIVE▪ taut▪ loose▪ fine, thin▪ thick▪ flexible, soft▪ stiff▪ rusty▪ metal, steel, etc.▪ baling (AmE), barbed, chicken (= wire mesh used to make fences), razor▪ piano▪ perimeter▪ trip (usually tripwire)▪
The bomb was attached to a tripwire laid across the road.
▪ high (= in a circus)▪One man rode a bicycle along the high wire as the climax to the act.
… OF WIRE▪ length, piece, strand▪ coil, roll▪coils of barbed wire
VERB + WIRE▪ cut▪They cut the perimeter wire and escaped.
▪ bend, twist▪ stretch, string▪The wire was stretched between two poles.
▪ be surrounded by, be topped with, be wrapped in▪a fence topped with razor wire
WIRE + NOUN▪ mesh, netting (esp. BrE)▪ basket, brush, cage, fence, fencing, frame, hanger, rack▪wire coat hangers
▪Cool the cakes on a wire rack.
PREPOSITION▪ behind a/the wire▪Behind the wire, the prisoners were exercising.
▪ under a/the wire▪We got in under the wire.
2 for electricityADJECTIVE▪ electric, electrical, electricity (esp. BrE)▪Don't place carpets over electrical wires.
▪overhead electricity wires
▪ earth (BrE), ground (AmE), live, neutral▪Don't touch that wire. It's live.
▪ overhead▪ telegraph, telephone▪ fuse▪ bare, exposed▪Watch out for bare wires.
▪ insulated, plastic-coated▪ frayed▪ copper, silver, etc.▪ 14-gauge, 20-gauge, etc. (esp. AmE)VERB + WIRE▪ attach, connect▪The wire was attached to a pin in the plug.
▪ disconnect▪He disconnected the wire from the clock.
▪ run▪The electrician ran a wire from the kitchen to the bedroom.
WIRE + VERB▪ go, lead, run, trail▪Where does this wire go?
▪There were wires trailing everywhere.
▪ dangle, protrude, stick outPREPOSITION▪ along a/the wire, down a/the wire▪the flow of electrical current down a wire
PHRASES▪ a tangle of wires▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}I found myself tripping over a tangle of wires and cables.
verbADVERB▪ correctly, properly▪You should check that the socket is correctly wired.
▪ directly▪ together▪The components have to be wired together in a certain way.
▪ in, up▪She was wired up to a heart monitor.
▪ genetically (figurative)▪We're genetically wired to love sugar.
PREPOSITION▪ for▪Many homes were wired for lighting only.
▪ into, to▪The Christmas tree lights are all wired to one plug.
Wire is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑electricianWire is used with these nouns as the object: ↑plug
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
