hard-wired

Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

hard·wire

or hard-wire (härd′wīr′)

tr.v. hard·wired, hard·wir·ing, hard·wires or hard-wired or hard-wir·ing or hard-wires

1. To connect (electronic components, for example) by electrical wires or cables.

2. To implement (a capability) through logic circuitry that is permanently connected within a computer and therefore not subject to change by programming.

a. To determine or put into effect by genetic inheritance: "It may be that certain orders of anxiety are hard-wired in us" (Armand Schwerner).

b. To provide with a response or capability by genetic inheritance: Humans are hardwired for speech.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hard-wired

adj

1. (Computer Science) (of a circuit or instruction) permanently wired into a computer, replacing separate software

2. (Psychology) (of human behaviour) innate; not learned: humans have a hard-wired ability for acquiring language.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hard′-wired′

or hard′wired′,

adj.

a. built into a computer's hardware and thus not readily changed.

b. (of a terminal) connected to a computer by a direct circuit rather than through a switching network.

2. (of a behavior pattern) intrinsic and difficult to change.

[1970–75]

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

HARD-WIRED Cathy says being bilingual in Gaelic and English is part of her identity

Rewarding & humbling; TV presenter Cathy tells of her pride at hosting our awards night for the sixth year on the trot

"I agree that women are hard-wired to be more resilient and survivors as they are the stronger sex.

Women are hard-wired to be stronger

LISTEN TO IT ROISIN MURPHY is hard-wired for eclecticism - from her clothes to her vocals, and Take Her Up To Monto, the former Moloko singer's fourth solo record, is true to form.

take her upp To Monto

California's Title 24 divides lighting fixtures into high efficacy (an efficient source in a hard-wired or GU-24 base fixture) and low efficacy fixtures (Edison base fixtures and track lighting), and then puts limits on where and how much wattage for low efficacy fixtures can be used.

Prescriptive code problems

Professor Gina Rippon said it was time to debunk the myth that gender differences are hard-wired into our brains.

'Stereotypes' change brains; UK BULLETINS

Even the sainted Agatha Christie succumbed, describing a particularly noxious character 'Remember, Israelis are hard-wired as owning "a rather "eshy nose", code for Jewish, "with a sleekness about him that I especially disliked".

QUITE EASY TO EXPLAIN RESPONSE FROM ISRAEL

The second is larger, typically mounted behind the cab, and hard-wired to the battery.

Keep your cool: transporting your dog in hot weather

Washington, March 14 ( ANI ): A new study suggests that human brains are "hard-wired" to link what one sees and does.

Human brains 'hard-wired' to link visual cues with body motion

It is also possible to set up 4 additional hard-wired zones connected to the Control Panel.

LuxHome Reveals LHK102SK Alarm Kit

Unfortunately, some of us are hard-wired in such a way that one bet is never enough.

Gambling's too big a risk to take; VOICE OF THE

Chief Durgin and the Federal Emergency Management Agency also recommend that smoke detectors, including hard-wired smoke detectors, be tested at least once a month along with replacing batteries at least twice a year.

It's the season for timely reminders; Turning back the clocks is just part of the ritual