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
Michael A. Smith2
: the limit of one's strength or resources
I'm at the end of my tether.
tethered; tethering
ˈte-t͟h(ə-)riŋ 
: 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
Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 Oct. 2025
Instead of using natural handholds in the rock, via ferrata climbers move almost exclusively using artificial hardware drilled into the rock face, such as chains, cables, bridges, and ladders, and are attached to these fixtures via a tether and harness at all times.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 29 Sep. 2025
Ganesh Marín, The Dial, 7 Oct. 2025
Since it was formed in 1987, Hamas has tethered itself to a hard-line Islamist ideology that does not allow fundamental compromises on issues such as recognition of Israel and the development of Palestine as a secular state.
—Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tether
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Noun
The first, and most obvious, is that the cable tethers themselves are potentially fragile.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 Oct. 2025
Instead of using natural handholds in the rock, via ferrata climbers move almost exclusively using artificial hardware drilled into the rock face, such as chains, cables, bridges, and ladders, and are attached to these fixtures via a tether and harness at all times.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
Just a few kilometers away, a black bear sniffs and studies the device tethering it to a tree.
—Ganesh Marín, The Dial, 7 Oct. 2025
Since it was formed in 1987, Hamas has tethered itself to a hard-line Islamist ideology that does not allow fundamental compromises on issues such as recognition of Israel and the development of Palestine as a secular state.
—Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tether
Cite this Entry
“Tether.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tether. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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