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tier

SayTEERUS/tɪɚ//tɪə/

Pluraltiers

Verbtiers, tiering, tiered

10 meanings of tier

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A row of things, often one of several rows set one above another.

    We sat in the top tier of the stadium.

    The wedding cake had three tiers covered in white flowers.

    Similarrow, level, layer, rank

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    One level in a group of levels that go from high to low.

    The team played in the second tier for years before moving up.

    The basic tier of the streaming service has ads.

    Similarlevel, grade, rank, band, echelon

    Note
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To put things in layers, one on top of another.

    She likes to tier the cupcakes on a tall stand.

    The baker tiered the cake with thick cream between each layer.

    Similarterrace, layer

  4. 4
    verbintransitive
    To hang or fall down in rows that overlap each other.

    Ruffles tier down the front of her party dress.

    Her curls tiered over her shoulders in soft layers.

    Similarcascade

  5. 5
    verbtransitive
    In computing, to move data to a different kind of storage depending on how often it is used.

    The system tiers old photos to cheaper storage after a few months.

    We tier files nobody opens anymore to the archive drive.

    Note
  6. 6
    nouncountable
    One row of pictures that goes across a comic strip.

    The joke is in the last panel of the bottom tier.

    The Sunday comic was bigger, with three tiers of pictures.

    Similarrow

  7. 7
    USTY-er/ˈtaɪ.ɚ/UKTY-uh/ˈtaɪ.ə/
    nouncountable
    A person who ties knots or other things.

    My grandpa is a great fly tier and makes all his own fishing flies.

    Ask Sam to do the knots, he's the best tier on the boat.

    Note
  8. 8
    USTY-er/ˈtaɪ.ɚ/UKTY-uh/ˈtaɪ.ə/
    nouncountable
    A thing or tool that ties things.

    The workers used an electric tier to twist wire around the steel bars.

    This bread bag tier closes each bag with a little twist of wire.

  9. 9
    nounAustraliacountable
    In Australia, a line of hills or mountains, often covered in forest, or a single mountain.

    We could see snow on the tier from our farm.

    They went bushwalking in the tiers behind the town.

    Similarrange

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 10
    USTY-er/ˈtaɪ.ɚ/UKTY-uh/ˈtaɪ.ə/
    nounarchaic
    An apron that a child wears.

    Mother tied a clean tier on the little girl before lunch.

    The baby's tier was covered in jam by the end of breakfast.

    Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 7–8, 10

From tie and the ending -er.

Meanings 1–6, 9

From the French word tier, from Old French tire, meaning “rank” or “order”.