tier / ti(ə)r/ • n. a row or level of a structure, typically one of a series of rows placed one above the other and successively receding or diminishing in size: a tier of seats| [in comb.] the room was full of three-tier metal bunks. ∎  one of a number of successively overlapping ruffles or flounces on a garment. ∎  a level or grade within the hierarchy of an organization or system: companies have taken out a tier of management to save money.DERIVATIVES: tiered / ti(ə)rd/ adj.

Tier

a row or rank; a series; ships moored or at anchor, 1732.

Examples : tier of galleries; of guns; of organ pipes; of shelves; of shipping (moored), 1858; of snakes, 1646; of theatre boxes; the lower tier of society, 1882.

tier row, rank of seats, shelves, etc. XVI. — (O)F. tire sequence, rank, order, f. tirer draw. draw out :- Rom. *tīrāre, of unkn. orig.

tier. One of a series of rows placed one above the other, e.g. galleries or boxes in a theatre.