| 释义 |
under the wire
wire W0183500 (wīr)n.1. a. Metal that has been drawn out into a strand or rod, used chiefly for structural support, as in concrete, and for conducting electricity, when it is usually insulated with a rubber or plastic cladding: bought some wire at the hardware store.b. A strand or rod of such material, or a cable made of such strands twisted together.c. Fencing made of wire, especially barbed wire.d. wires The system of strings employed in manipulating puppets in a show.2. Slang A hidden microphone, as on a person's body or in a building.3. a. A telephone or telegraph connection: Who is on the wire?b. A telegraph service: sent the message by wire.c. A telegram or cablegram: "Mac got a wire from Milly that Uncle Tim was dead" (John Dos Passos).d. A wire service: The news came over the wire.4. A pin in the print head of a computer printer.5. The screen on which sheets of paper are formed in a papermaking machine.6. Sports The finish line of a racetrack.7. Slang A pickpocket.v. wired, wir·ing, wires v.tr.1. a. To equip with a system of electrical wires: wire a house.b. To attach or connect with electrical wire or cable: Is the printer wired to the computer?c. To attach or fasten with wire: Surgeons wired his shoulder together.2. Slang To install electronic eavesdropping equipment in (a room, for example).3. a. To send by telegraph: wired her congratulations.b. To send a telegram to (someone).4. Computers To implement (a capability) through logic circuitry that is permanently connected within a computer or calculator and therefore not subject to change by programming.5. To determine genetically; hardwire: "It is plausible that the basic organization of grammar is wired into the child's brain" (Steven Pinker).v.intr. To send a telegram.Idioms: down to the wire Informal To the very end, as in a race or contest. under the wire1. Sports At the finish line.2. Informal Just in the nick of time; at the last moment.
[Middle English, from Old English wīr; see wei- in Indo-European roots.]
wir′a·ble adj.under the wire - Meaning "just in time," it is from horse racing, in which the wire marks the finish line.See also related terms for wire.under the wire
under the wireAt the last minute. I submitted my application at 11:59 PM on deadline day—just under the wire!See also: wireunder the wireFig. just barely in time or on time. I turned in my report just under the wire. Bill was the last person to get in the door. He got in under the wire.See also: wireunder the wireBarely, scarcely, just within the limit, as in This book will be finished just under the wire. This term comes from horse racing, where the wire marks the finish line. [First half of 1900s] Also see down to the wire. See also: wireunder the wire mainly AMERICAN1. If you do something under the wire, you succeed in doing it at the last possible moment. Work was completed just under the wire. One or two companies got in under the wire and made loans to executives before the U.S. ban came into effect.2. If a person or animal goes under the wire in a race, they get to the finishing point. Elliott rode the horse hard all the way under the wire. Note: The `wire' here is a an imaginary one which the horses pass under at the end of a race. See also: wireunder the wire at the last possible opportunity, just before a time limit. North American informalSee also: wireunder the wire mod. at the very last minute. I got it in just under the wire. See also: wire under the wire1. Sports At the finish line.2. Informal Just in the nick of time; at the last moment.See also: wireEncyclopediaSeewire |