wire

Everyday

1. A wire is a long thin piece of metal that can bend. tree →
2. An electric wire carries electricity, often inside a plastic cover. tree →
3. To wire something is to put in wires for electricity. tree →
4. «Wired» in speech can mean very excited and awake. tree →

In the lessons

In school maths: a length cut into equal pieces or bent into a shape (the wire's length is the perimeter). In science: wires in an electric circuit carry current from the battery to the bulb; copper wire conducts electricity, plastic covers insulate. In everyday life: a wire fence, a coat hanger, phone cables. Phrases: «electric wire», «wire fence», «barbed wire», «down to the wire» (until the very end).

Examples

• She has 60 cm of wire. tree →
• He cut the wire into 5 equal pieces. tree →
• A square is made from 40 cm of wire. How long is each side? tree →
• Each fence needs 20 meters of wire. tree →
• Connect the bulb to the battery with two wires. tree →
• The wire is covered in plastic to keep us safe. tree →
• The cows stay inside the wire fence. tree →
• The race went right down to the wire. tree →
• Instead of ropes it had wires for rigging, and musicians played on them with fiddle bows and made lovely music. tree →

Note

Countable for pieces («a wire»), uncountable for the material («some wire», «a roll of wire»). Maths: cutting into equal pieces divides; bending wire into a shape — the wire's length is the perimeter. Safety: never touch wires that come out of a wall or a broken plug.