tie-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈtī-ˌəp 

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

tie up

2 of 2

verb

tied up; tying up or tieing up; ties up

transitive verb

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

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

Noun

• jam
• snarl
• congestion

Verb

• impede
• hinder
• hamper
• embarrass
• obstruct
• hold back
• handicap

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

Noun

That’s because Scale’s tie-up with Meta means many of the big AI labs, worried about a loss of neutrality, no longer want to work with them, the founders argue. —Richard Nieva, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

In another celeb tie-up, American Eagle teamed with Travis Kelce — announcing a new design collaboration with the Kansas City Chiefs star’s sports and lifestyle brand Tru Kolors, one day after his engagement to Taylor Swift became public. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025

Verb

Under the previous deal, the bonds were tied up with gate revenues, which took a hit during the pandemic, so the club’s owners — via Lewis — refinanced the loans, incurring a £32m break cost to end the loan sooner than planned. —Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025

Though brought second, that case ended up going to trial first, after the initial defamation case got tied up in court. —Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for tie-up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

tie-up

1 of 2 noun

ˈtī-ˌəp

1

: a slowing or stopping especially of traffic or business

2

: connection sense 2, association

tie up

2 of 2 verb

(ˈ)tī-ˈəp

1

: to fasten securely

2

a

: to use in such a manner as not to be available for other purposes

money tied up in stocks

b

: to keep from working or going

traffic was tied up for hours

3

: to have a relationship with something else

this ties up with what you said before