guyed

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of guy.

   Workers guyed the new utility pole so it would not lean in the wind.

   The mast was guyed to the deck with tensioned cables.

   Note

   One spelling covers both the simple past (workers guyed the pole) and the participle after have or was (the mast was guyed). The verb guy is not only about cables, though. It can also mean to mock someone, or to play a part for laughs, so "critics guyed his performance" has nothing to do with rigging. Only context separates these meanings from the cable-steadied adjective.

   The critics guyed his pompous performance without mercy.

   The comedian guyed the villain's role until the audience roared.

2. 2
   adjective

   Fitted with one or more ropes, wires, or chains that steady or secure it in position.

   A guyed flagpole can stand taller than a freestanding one of the same thickness.

   The guyed scaffolding stayed rigid even as crews loaded it with materials.

   Similarbraced

   Oppositefreestanding, self-supporting

   Note

   Built from the noun guy, "a wire or stay," plus -ed, the adjective describes the thing being held rather than the line doing the holding. A guyed mast or tower stays upright because cables pull on it from several sides. Contrast the line rigged as a stay, where the rope itself is what gets called guyed. It does not compare: a structure is guyed or it is not, never more guyed.

3. 3
   adjective

   Fitted or rigged so as to serve as a steadying rope, wire, or chain for another member.

   The guyed cord stretched taut from the tent peak down to its peg.

   A rigger threaded the guyed line through the block to brace the swinging spar.

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