Added 9 October 2026
tyre
/taɪə(ɹ)/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tyre at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The ring-shaped protective covering around a wheel which is usually made of rubber or plastic composite and is either pneumatic or solid.
pneumatic tyres
-
The metal rim, or metal covering on a rim, of a (wooden or metal) wheel, usually of steel or formerly wrought iron, as found on (horse-drawn or railway) carriages and wagons and on locomotives.
iron tyres for the coach and iron shoes for the horse
verb
noun
verb
- To adorn.
Origin
Attested in the sense “rim of a wheel” since ca. 1500. Generally considered to be a use of Middle English tir(e), a clipped byform of atir (“equipment, furnishings, ornament”), whence modern attire. A less accepted theory derives it from the verb to tie. The spelling tyre was predominant in the 16th century, but largely gave way to tire in the 17th and 18th, before it was revived again outside North America in the 19th century.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)