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
New Atlas,
5 July 2026
The fitting finale tethers two era-defining teams, the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty, on Tuesday night.
—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
30 June 2026
Lisa Rozner,
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Idle horses should also be tethered.
—
Michael Casey,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tether
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The current tests were run with a tether attached to the AUV for safety, a precaution the team plans to keep using until the autonomous docking is rock solid.
—
New Atlas,
5 July 2026
The fitting finale tethers two era-defining teams, the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty, on Tuesday night.
—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
30 June 2026
Verb
This is a commonsense safety upgrade that would enable drivers to tether their horses and prevent them from straying.
—
Lisa Rozner,
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Idle horses should also be tethered.
—
Michael Casey,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tether
Cite this Entry
“Tether.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tether. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
