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
Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
The marquee tie-up also comes on a school night up against both of NYC’s MLB teams playing key games in their effort to secure playoff spots, including the home Yankees game.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
And, as the anticipation builds, Williams and Stewart teased that Season 2, Part 2 will consist of more action, following the first few episodes where the characters get revenge and tie up their loose ends.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tie-up
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Noun
Critics warn of a bubble, pointing to how companies like Nvidia, Oracle, Broadcom and Microsoft have each added hundreds of billions of dollars in market value on the back of tie-ups with OpenAI, which is burning cash.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2025
The marquee tie-up also comes on a school night up against both of NYC’s MLB teams playing key games in their effort to secure playoff spots, including the home Yankees game.
—Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
That process is currently tied up with county approvals.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
And, as the anticipation builds, Williams and Stewart teased that Season 2, Part 2 will consist of more action, following the first few episodes where the characters get revenge and tie up their loose ends.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 24 Sep. 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 30 Sep. 2025.
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