1
: a slowdown or stoppage of traffic, business, or operation (as by a mechanical breakdown)
2
: connection, association
helpful financial tie-ups
3
a
: a cow stable
also
: a space for a single cow in a stable
b
: a mooring place for a boat
tied up; tying up or tieing up; ties up
1
: to attach, fasten, or bind securely
also
: to wrap up and fasten
2
a
: to connect closely : join
tie up the loose ends
b
: to cause to be linked so as to depend on or relate to something
3
a
: to place or invest in such a manner as to make unavailable for other purposes
their money was tied up in stocks
b
: to restrain from normal movement, operation, or progress
traffic was tied up for miles
4
a
: to keep busy
was tied up in conference all day
b
: to preempt the use of
tied up the phone for an hour
1
: dock entry 2
the ferry ties up at the south slip
2
: to assume a definite relationship
this ties up with what I told you before
Examples of tie-up in a Sentence
Noun
a tie-up at the junction of Main and Central has slowed traffic to a crawl
in a tie-up with the film studio, the toy company is producing a whole line of figures featuring characters from the animated movie
Verb
an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway
Recent Examples on the Web
Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The first was particularly brutal, with more tie-ups and more off-the-mark passing.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Abigail Bassett, ArsTechnica, 25 Apr. 2025
The order to dismantle IMLS and other agencies is tied up in a lawsuit backed by a coalition of state attorneys general, including Connecticut’s William Tong.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tie-up
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Noun
The tie-up is on the path toward creating Africa’s largest provider of the full range of DRE services with a combined coverage of 14 African nations and more than 15 million serviceable customers.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The first was particularly brutal, with more tie-ups and more off-the-mark passing.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
While much of that cost is tied up in the battery, prices have improved as components have come down in price.
—Abigail Bassett, ArsTechnica, 25 Apr. 2025
The order to dismantle IMLS and other agencies is tied up in a lawsuit backed by a coalition of state attorneys general, including Connecticut’s William Tong.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tie-up
Cite this Entry
“Tie-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tie-up. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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