Meanings
tether1
plural tethers · alternative tedder
- A rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
We suffer the weather / We bind and we tether / This nation together
2018, John Kander, Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Cheering For Me Now”, in Hamilton (Hamildrops)1 more example
With the bulky, heavy helmet for the film strapped on, I was inside a fully immersive virtual world. With de la Peña playing minder and holding a tether which prevented me from bumping into walls, I somehow ended up inside the news story.
2013 September 25, Neal Ungerleider, “Put On A Helmet, And You’re In The Story: Why Virtual Reality Journalism Is The Future”, in Fast Company - figurativelyAn attachment to a place, time, entity or person.
Despite moving, he maintained a strong tether to his culture back home.
4 more examples
Deeper than speech our love, stronger than life our tether, / But we do not fall on the neck nor kiss when we come together.
1909, Rudyard Kipling, A Song of the English^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Song_of_the_English_(1909)), London: Hodder & Stoughton, →OCLC, England's Answer, page 227what tethers us to gravity and light / has most to do with distance and the shapes / we find in water
2002, John Burnside, “History”, in The Light Trap, London: Jonathan CapeThe tether to our national identity can never feel stronger than it does over a cup of bad arena coffee in the dead of winter.
2019 August 6, Erik Koreen, “Ask Isaac: Minor hockey can be heaven, other people can be hell”, in New York TimesBut for toddlers who have now lived nearly 16 months in varying degrees of social isolation, the tether to before has long faded, and they now face after without clear recollections of the world to which they are returning.
2021 June 28, Caitlin Gibson, “What the ‘return to normal’ means for toddlers who no longer remember ‘normal’”, in Washington Post, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2021 - nauticalA strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay.
present singular third person tethers · participle present tethering · participle past tethered · past tethered · alternative tedder
- transitiveTo connect to something else.
The younger Targaryen feels as though she’s lost any intimacy that tethered her to compassion and humanity, and so all that remains is the imperious need to rule that has driven her all these years, now bereft of the warmth that previously tempered her.
2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 May 2019
tether2
- alternativeAlternative form of tethera.
Synonyms & antonyms
strap
nounrestraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dewk-“to pull”
- Proto-Indo-European*dew-“to tie”
- Proto-Indo-European*dewtro-
- Proto-Germanic*teudrą“rope; cord; shaft”
- Old Norsetjóðr
- Old English*tēoder
- Middle Englishtether
- Englishtether
From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan amarra
- amarrarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Chinese Mandarin 共享网络
- 共享网络to connect a PC and a smartphone
Czech úvaz, provaz
- úvazrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- provazrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- řetězrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Danish fortøjring, tøjr
- fortøjringrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- tøjrrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Dutch lijn, kabel
- lijnrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- kabelrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- snoerrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- limietlimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- grenslimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- eindelimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- vastmakento restrict something with or as if with a tether
- bindento restrict something with or as if with a tether
Finnish lieka, mahdollisuuksien raja
- liekarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- mahdollisuuksien rajalimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- turvaköysinautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay
- panna liekaanto restrict something with or as if with a tether
French longe, attacher
- longerope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- attacherto restrict something with or as if with a tether
German Strick, Haltegurt
- Strickrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Haltegurtrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Spannseilrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Leinerope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Schnurrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Schnürungrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Halteseilrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- Limitlimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- Grenzelimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- Endelimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- anbindento restrict something with or as if with a tether
- festmachento restrict something with or as if with a tether
- beschränkento restrict something with or as if with a tether
- anleinento restrict something with or as if with a tether
- zusammenschaltento connect a PC and a smartphone
- koppelnto connect a PC and a smartphone
Irish teaghrán
- teaghránrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Italian cavezza, guinzaglio
- cavezzarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- guinzagliorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- brigliarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- redinerope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- portatalimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- campolimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- imbrigliareto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- incatenareto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- tenere al guinzaglioto restrict something with or as if with a tether
Malay tali tambat, rantai tambat
- tali tambatrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- rantai tambatrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- buntu fikiranlimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- suntuk fikiranlimit of one's abilities, resources etc
- tambatto restrict something with or as if with a tether
Norwegian tjor
- tjorrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Polish pęto, pęta
- pętorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- pętarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- uwięźrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- postronekrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Portuguese amarra, peia
- amarrarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- peiarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- amarrarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- acoplarto connect a PC and a smartphone
- conectarto connect a PC and a smartphone
Russian при́вязь, страхо́вочная верёвка
- при́вязь (prívjazʹ)rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- страхо́вочная верёвка (straxóvočnaja verjóvka)rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- преде́л (predél)limit of one's abilities, resources etc
- грани́ца (graníca)limit of one's abilities, resources etc
- привяза́ть (privjazátʹ)to restrict something with or as if with a tether
- привя́зывать (privjázyvatʹ)to restrict something with or as if with a tether
Spanish soga, dogal
- sogarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- dogalrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- ronzalrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- atadurarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- atadijorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- ataderorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- cuerdarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- cabestrorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- cabrestorope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- amarrarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- acordonarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- atarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- apersogarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- atortolarto restrict something with or as if with a tether
- enlazarto connect a PC and a smartphone
- acoplarto connect a PC and a smartphone
- conectarto connect a PC and a smartphone
Swedish tjuder, ankartross
- tjuderrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- ankartrossrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- förankringslinarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- ankarkättingrope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
- fånglinanautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay
- tjudrato restrict something with or as if with a tether
- ankrato restrict something with or as if with a tether
- förankrato restrict something with or as if with a tether
- sammankopplato connect a PC and a smartphone
Tagalog soga
- sogarope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tether
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
tether. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tether
“tether.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tether. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tether,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tether.
Source: tether on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.