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weir

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weir¹

  • /wɪə̯/ Australia, UK
  • /wɪɹ/ US
  • /wiːɹ/ Scotland
  • /wiə/ New Zealand
  • /wɛː/

Sounds like Wear, we're, ware, wear (both cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English were, from Old English wer, from werian (“to dam up”), from Proto-West Germanic *warjan, from Proto-Germanic *warjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”); Cognate with Old Norse ver (“station for fishing”), Sanskrit वृणोति (vṛṇóti). Related to warranty.

noun weirs · wear · wier · wyer

  1. countable An adjustable dam placed across a river to regulate the flow of water downstream. Though Hambleden's parish register records the death, in 1753, of a bargeman 'Kill'd by accident, shooting ye lock', the turbulent waters of Mill End weir on the River Thames, about a mile from the village, still attract canoeists.
  2. countable A fence placed across a river to catch fish. The Taff is naturally a good salmon river, the Ely a sea trout river, but what with weirs and pollusions the fish have been pretty well exterminated.
  3. countable, obsolete, uncountable Seaweed.

verb weirs · weiring · weired · wear · wier

  1. To put a weir, or weirs (in a river)

Weir²

Where it comes from

* As an English and Scottish surname, from the noun weir. Compare Wear, Ware.

* Sometimes also a French surname, perhaps a version of Norman de la Were (“of the war”), see Warr. There is also the placename Wierre-au-Bois in Pas-de-Calais.

* As an Irish surname, shortened and Anglicized from Mac an Mhaoir (“son of the steward”), see McNair. Also sometimes Anglicized from erroneous translations of names such as Ó Corra, Ó Comhraidhe, see Corr and Curry.

proper noun Weirs

  1. countable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable A village in Rossendale borough, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom (OS grid ref SD8725).
  3. countable, uncountable A town and municipality in Bharatpur District, Rajasthan, India.
  4. countable, uncountable An unincorporated village in Montcalm, Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada.
  5. countable, uncountable A minor city in Cherokee County, Kansas.
  6. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.
  7. countable, uncountable A town in Choctaw County, Mississippi.
  8. countable, uncountable A minor city in Williamson County, Texas.
  9. countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: barrage, damming, dam, spillway, overfall, threshold, barricade, barrier, regulator, outflow, cut-off, outlet, blockade, lasher, overflow, outfall

Translations

Every language

noun adjustable dam

Españolcompuerta, vertedero, aliviadero
日本語堰 seki
Portuguêscomporta
Françaisseuil
DeutschWehr
Italianostramazzo, cateratta
Русскийводосли́в vodoslív
Tiếng Việtđăng
العربيةهَدَّار haddār

noun fence to catch fish

Españolcorral de pesca, represa pesquera, pesquera
日本語梁漁 yanaryou
Portuguêscaniçado
Françaisécrille, bordigue
DeutschFischwehr

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MLA

"weir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/weir. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

weir. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/weir

Chicago

"weir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/weir.

BibTeX
@misc{weir_2026,
  title = {weir},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/weir},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}