tether

1 of 2

noun

teth·​er ˈte-t͟hər 

1

a

: a line (as of rope or chain) by which an animal is fastened so as to restrict its range of movement

b

: a line to which someone or something is attached (as for security)

A crewman can clip the tether of his harness to the [safety line] and leave it clipped as he makes his way forward and aft.

—Michael A. Smith

2

: the limit of one's strength or resources

I'm at the end of my tether.

tether

2 of 2

verb

tethered; tethering ˈte-t͟h(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

: to fasten or restrain by or as if by a tether

felt tethered to her desk until the work was done

Examples of tether in a Sentence

Verb

They tethered the horses in the shade.

The dog was tethered to the fence.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Plus, the stakes aren’t very high here: Matt has no life outside his job, so there’s no emotional tether. —Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 7 Mar. 2025

Meanwhile, their dive supervisor, Craig Frederick, was in the diving bell managing their tethers (a.k.a. —Keith Langston, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025

Verb

The deal announced on March 28 by Mr. Musk valued X at about $33 billion and tethered its fortunes to xAI, which was valued at $80 billion. —Kate Conger, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

This long road back to a clear and confident sense of self that’s no longer tethered to a former partner can take years. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tethir, teder, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse tjōthr tether; akin to Old High German zeotar pole of a wagon

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tether

• the end of one's tether

Rhymes for tether

• aether
• gether
• heather
• leather
• nether
• weather
• wether
• whether
• altogether
• together

Kids Definition

tether

1 of 2 noun

teth·​er ˈtet͟h-ər 

: a line by which something (as an animal or a balloon) is fastened so as to limit its range

tether

2 of 2 verb

tethered; tethering ˈtet͟h-(ə-)riŋ 

: to fasten or hold with or as if with a tether

felt tethered to my desk