wire rope

wire rope (countable and uncountable, plural wire ropes)

2. A strong cable consisting of twisted strands of wire, generally intended for supporting heavy loads.

   Hypernyms: rope, cable

   Meronym: bridge wire

Although wire rope and one sense of cable are synonymous, use of the term wire rope is generally restricted to applications such as hoisting and hauling, e.g. when the wire rope is used in elevators, cranes, funiculars, suspension bridges, or the like; small electrical cables are called cables, not wire rope.