tyre

Everyday

1. A tyre is a thick rubber ring, usually filled with air, that fits around a wheel of a car, bike or other vehicle. tree →
2. A flat tyre is one with no air in it. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and safety: check your bike tyres have enough air before you ride; worn tyres slip on wet roads. In science, the grooves (tread) on tyres give grip by increasing friction. Phrases: flat tyre, spare tyre, pump up a tyre, tyre pressure.

Examples

• My bike has a flat tyre. tree →
• Dad changed the car tyre at the side of the road. tree →
• Pump up your tyres before you ride. tree →
• Tyres grip the road because of friction. tree →
• The spare tyre is in the boot. tree →
• Old tyres can be made into swings. tree →
• Bumpy tyres help mountain bikes on mud. tree →
• We heard the tyres screech. tree →

Note

British, Irish, Australian and NZ spelling: tyre; American and Canadian spelling: tire. Do not confuse with the verb tire (to get tired), which is spelled tire everywhere. The wheel is the round frame; the tyre is the rubber part around it.

In Jewish tradition

Tyre was a rich Phoenician port city on the coast north of Israel. Its king Hiram helped David and Solomon build, and the prophets later warned Tyre about its pride and wealth.

Interpretation. The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel declared that Tyre's pride and trading wealth would fall. Tradition reads this as a lesson that riches and power do not last without justice.

Examples

• And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. (Prophets 1KI.7.13, JPS 1917) tree →
• Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; (Writings PSA.83.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• 'And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, (Prophets EZK.27.2, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

British, Irish, Australian and NZ spelling: tyre; American and Canadian spelling: tire. Do not confuse with the verb tire (to get tired), which is spelled tire everywhere. The wheel is the round frame; the tyre is the rubber part around it.