wiring

Pluralwirings

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   The mass of electric wires running through a building, machine, or device.

   Like the nervous system of a building, carrying power and signals to every part.

   The electrician traced a fault in the wiring behind the wall.

   Modern aircraft contain miles of wiring connecting their many systems.

   Similarcircuitry, cabling, wires, electrics

   Note

   Built from wire plus -ing, the noun usually behaves as a mass word: the wiring, some faulty wiring, miles of wiring. It can also be counted, with the plural wirings, when distinct sets of wires are meant rather than wire in general. In ordinary talk about a house or a machine, the uncountable use is the safe choice.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of wire.

   She is wiring the speakers into the sound system.

   Workers spent the week wiring the entire office building.

   Note

   The -ing form does double duty: a participle in she is wiring the speakers, a gerund in wiring the office took a week. Either way it keeps the verb's object, which tells it apart from the noun for the wires themselves, since the wiring behind the wall names a thing. The verb also reaches beyond electricity, as in wiring a cork onto a wine bottle, wiring a fence, or wiring someone into a political scene.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2