What does "tire" mean?
Alternative spelling of tyre: The rubber covering on a wheel.
Tire
/ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Alternative spelling of tyre: The rubber covering on a wheel.
- Grammar: tire is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: exhaust, fatigue, jade, tire out.
- Useful contrasts: absorbing, energize, energy.
- Usage evidence: We found a nail stuck in the tire.
How to use "tire"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tire" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tire" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tire" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tire" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tire" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "exhaust" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tire", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Alternative spelling of tyre: The rubber covering on a wheel. Canada, US, alt-of, alternative
- 2 A tier, row, or rank.
"In posture to displode their second tire / Of thunder."
- 3 hoop that covers a wheel wordnet
- 4 Alternative spelling of tyre: The metal rim of a wheel, especially that of a railroad locomotive. US, alt-of, alternative
- 5 A child's apron covering the upper part of the body, and tied with tape or cord; a pinafore. Also tier.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Accoutrements, accessories. obsolete
"the tire of war"
- 7 Dress, clothes, attire. obsolete
"Ne spared they to strip her naked all. / Then when they had despoild her tire and call, / Such as she was, their eyes might her behold."
- 8 A covering for the head; a headdress.
"And on her head she wore a tyre of gold,"
Verb
- 1 To become sleepy or weary. intransitive
"As Moldova understandably tired after a night of ball chasing, Everton left-back Baines scored his first international goal as his deflected free-kick totally wrong-footed Namasco."
- 2 To dress or adorn. obsolete, transitive
"[Jezebel] painted her face, and tired her head."
- 3 To seize, pull, and tear prey, as a hawk does. obsolete
"Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast, / Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh, and bone."
- 4 exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress wordnet
- 5 To make sleepy or weary. transitive
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To seize, rend, or tear something as prey; to be fixed upon, or engaged with, anything. obsolete
"and now doth gaſtly death With greedie talients gripe my bleeding hart, And like a Harpye tires on my life."
- 7 lose interest or become bored with something or somebody wordnet
- 8 To become bored or impatient (with). intransitive
"I tire of this book."
- 9 cause to be bored wordnet
- 10 To bore. transitive
- 11 deplete wordnet
Example
"We found a nail stuck in the tire."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tire"?
Common synonyms include: exhaust, fatigue, jade, tire out, tyre, wear.
How do you use "tire" in a sentence?
We found a nail stuck in the tire.
How do you pronounce "tire"?
Pronounced /ˈtaɪ̯ɚ/.
Etymology
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”).
Etymology 2
Probably from Middle English tir(e) (“equipment, furnshings, ornament”). See the details at tyre.
Etymology 3
From Middle English tire, from Old French tirer (“to draw or pull”), akin to English tear (“to rend”).