Tier (homographs)

There are two nouns (and a derivative verb) written tier in English. Don't confuse them!

• The commoner of the two is pronounced to rhyme with 'here', 'beer' and 'fear', IPA: /ˈtiː ə^r/. It means '[one of a series of] rows usually arranged vertically'. Seats in sports grounds rise in tiers to ensure that spectators further from the pitch or arena etc can see over the heads of those in front (and nearer to the action); the rows of seats in a theatre or other auditorium are commonly tiered above the main floor - 'balconies', 'galleries' and '[dress] circles' are common names for these; an elaborate woman's dress may have several tiers of flounces or other ornament. Casks or boxes may be stored in tiers in cellars or the holds of ships. In the past tier was used for the different levels of oarsmen seated in a galley, etc. and later for the different levels of cannon, their gunports and so on in a warship, or the equivalent bands of gun emplacements in a defended fort (usually in the past). Tier is also used for a group of organ pipes, for various figurative meanings, mostly sociological, in terms of classes, status and so on. Nautically, it has been used to mean a row of ships in the same anchorage, and, on-board, to mean the racks where large ropes, hawsers and cables are stored. In large sailing vessels, this was in a separate compartment or 'room' on the vessel, the cable tier.
• The other tier is the agent noun from the verb 'to tie': it means 'someone who ties'. It is pronounced in the same way as the verb, 'TIE-er', IPA: /ˈtaɪ ə^r/.

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• • You may also want to see AWE's page on the homophones of this tier at Tire - tyre.