tire iron
13
3.5
- noun
- /ˈtaɪər ˈaɪərn/
- US
:
llave de rueda
- Make sure to always carry a tire iron in your car in case of flat tires.
Examples
-
You also have the tire iron here and it's hooked on to the windshield washer fluid reservoir.
-
Can you get a tire iron, bud?
-
Then he dropped the tire iron on the table and sat down.
Fiction book (1999) -
Well, pretty much whatever was in the car, including a tire iron and the owner's manual you see here.
Blog text (17) -
You got a tire iron in the trunk of that pink thing?
-
The police found a tire iron in the bottom of the dumpster.
Fiction book (1994) -
Chet said nothing as he slipped the tire iron beneath his chair and picked up his coffee.
Fiction book (1999) -
The gym bag was slung over his right shoulder, and the tire iron and grocery bag dangled from his right hand.
Fiction book (1995) -
And they taught me how to use the tire irons to work your way around the tire, peel it off, pull out that, leave the tire halfway on the hub.
-
Then Chet pulled out from beneath his jacket the tire iron he had fetched from his car trunk and brought it down on the flycam.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
1
6.4
A metal lever that removes or fits a tire on a wheel rim
How Sturdy
- Specialized
45
2.9
- US
13
3.5
- Specialized
1
6.4
- Specialized
2
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'tire iron' is transparently formed from 'tire' (the rubber wheel part) + 'iron' (metal), yielding the meaning 'a metal object related to tires' following a common noun+noun composition. This cross-linguistically common pattern lets a B1 learner infer it is a metal tool used with tires (even if they might not predict the exact lever action), so the expression is compositional and readily understandable.
Etymology
Tire iron may come from the simple picture of an iron bar used with a tire. The word tire is the rubber wheel and iron is the metal, so the name means 'a metal tool used to remove or put on a tire'.