tire

English Online Dictionary. What means tire‎? What does tire mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/, [ˈtʰaɪ̯ɚ]
  • (Southern US, Appalachia) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːɚ/
  • (Midwestern US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌɪ̯ɚ/
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
• Homophone: tyre

Etymology 1

From Middle English tiren, tirien, teorien, from Old English tȳrian, tēorian (“to fail, cease, become weary, be tired, exhausted; tire, weary, exhaust”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *teuʀōn (“to cease”), which is possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dews- (“to fail, be behind, lag”). Compare Ancient Greek δεύομαι (deúomai, “to lack”), Sanskrit दोष (dóṣa, “crime, fault, vice, deficiency”).

Alternative forms

• tyre (dialectal)

Verb

tire (third-person singular simple present tires, present participle tiring, simple past and past participle tired)

1. (intransitive) To become sleepy or weary.
2. (transitive) To make sleepy or weary.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:tire

3. (intransitive) To become bored or impatient (with).

5. (transitive) To bore.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cause boredom

Derived terms

Related terms

• tiresome

Translations

References

Etymology 2

Believed from Middle English tire (“equipment”) aphetic form of attire; see details at tyre. See also German zieren (“to decorate”).

Alternative forms

• (rubber covering on a wheel): tyre

Noun

tire (plural tires)

1. (American spelling, Canadian spelling) alternative spelling of tyre: The rubber covering on a wheel.
2. (American spelling) alternative spelling of tyre: The metal rim of a wheel, especially that of a railroad locomotive.
3. A child's apron covering the upper part of the body, and tied with tape or cord; a pinafore. Also tier.
4. (obsolete) Accoutrements, accessories.
5. (obsolete) Dress, clothes, attire.
   • , New York Review of Books 2001, p.66:

     men like apes follow the fashions in tires, gestures, actions: if the king laugh, all laugh […].

6. A covering for the head; a headdress.

Usage notes

• Tire is one of the few words where Canadian usage prefers the US spelling over the British spelling.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Kashubian: tajra (Canada)

Translations

Verb

tire (third-person singular simple present tires, present participle tiring, simple past and past participle tired)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To dress or adorn.

Related terms

• tiring-house

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English tire, from Old French tirer (“to draw or pull”), akin to English tear (“to rend”).

Alternative forms

• tyre

Verb

tire (third-person singular simple present tires, present participle tiring, simple past and past participle tired)

1. (obsolete) To seize, pull, and tear prey, as a hawk does.
2. (obsolete) To seize, rend, or tear something as prey; to be fixed upon, or engaged with, anything.

Etymology 4

Noun

tire (plural tires)

1. A tier, row, or rank.

Further reading

• “tire”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “tire”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• REIT, Teri, iter, iter., reit, rite, tier, trie

Asturian

Verb

tire

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of tirar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of tirar

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Russian тире (tire), ultimately from French tiret.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tiˈre]
• Hyphenation: ti‧re

Noun

tire (definite accusative tireni, plural tirelər)

1. dash (punctuation mark)

Declension

French

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiʁ/

Verb

tire

1. inflection of tirer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Etymology 2

Deverbal from tirer.

Noun

tire f (plural tires)

1. (in expressions) verbal noun of tirer; pulling, drawing

   vol à la tire ― pickpocketing

   voleur à la tire ― pickpocket

   métier à la tire ― drawloom

2. (Canada) taffy, especially maple taffy

   tire d’érable ― maple taffy

3. (France, informal) car
4. (dated) route

Etymology 3

From English.

Noun

tire m (plural tires)

1. (North America) tire, tyre (of a car, truck, etc)

Further reading

• “tire”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• trie, trié

Galician

Verb

tire

1. inflection of tirar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Haitian Creole

Etymology

Inherited from French tirer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiɣe/

Verb

tire

1. to shoot (hit with a bullet or arrow)

Hausa

Etymology

Borrowed from English tray.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tì.ré/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [tɪ̀.ré]

Noun

tìr̃ê m (possessed form tìr̃ên)

1. tray

Portuguese

Verb

tire

1. inflection of tirar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtəiər/

Verb

tire (third-person singular simple present tires, present participle tirin, simple past tiret, past participle tiret)

1. to tire

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtiɾe/ [ˈt̪i.ɾe]
• Rhymes: -iɾe
• Syllabification: ti‧re

Verb

tire

1. inflection of tirar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Turkish

Etymology

From French tiret.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ti.ɾe/

Noun

tire (definite accusative tireyi, plural tireler)

1. "-" Hyphen-minus symbol, used as a hyphen, minus sign, and a dash.

Declension