tie-up

noun

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\ ˈtī-ˌəp

Definition of tie-up

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a slowdown or stoppage of traffic, business, or operation (as by a mechanical breakdown)

2 : connection, association helpful financial tie-ups

3a : a cow stable also : a space for a single cow in a stable

b : a mooring place for a boat

tie up

verb

tied up; tying up or tieing up; ties up

Definition of tie up (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to attach, fasten, or bind securely also : to wrap up and fasten

2a : to connect closely : join tie up the loose ends

b : to cause to be linked so as to depend on or relate to something

3a : 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

4a : to keep busy was tied up in conference all day

b : to preempt the use of tied up the phone for an hour

intransitive verb

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About tie-up

Examples of tie-up in a Sentence

Verb an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb But over the last 6:28 in regulation, St. John’s went on a 21-11 run to tie up the game. — Shreyas Laddha, courant.com, 12 Jan. 2022 Another court hearing is planned for Dec. 9, presumably to tie up loose ends and financial concerns. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2021 The Spartans intercepted Montiel to take possession with nine minutes left and a chance to tie up the game, but the Pirate defense was able to stop Marist from scoring again. — oregonlive, 27 Nov. 2021 The remaining five episodes also tie up several loose ends and most notably reveal why the Professor loves the thrill of a heist. — Pamela Avila, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021 Officials are urging people who need testing not to tie up emergency rooms, but to instead seek out testing sites and pharmacies. — Jeff Amy, ajc, 28 Dec. 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority found that last year’s $315 million tie up with the GIF search engine will reduce competition between social media platforms, according to a statement Tuesday. — Time, 30 Nov. 2021 There’s also a pile-up of empty containers, which tie up port space and truck chassis. — Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2021 While the acquisition will help Global Payments in expanding its reach in the business-to-business (B2B) cloud payments market, the tie up with Virgin Money will enable the company to offer payments solutions in the U.K. — Trefis Team, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tie-up.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.