tie up

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 of tie up

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

Examples of tie up in a Sentence

an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway

Recent Examples on the Web

Five of the hostages had been tied up, said Sid Patel, special agent in charge of the FBI Sacramento field office. —Dennis Romero, NBC news, 3 June 2026

Funding from the measures began distribution in 2025 after years of being tied up in legal cases and Alameda County saw a 13% drop in overall homelessness between 2024 and 2026, according to point-in-time counts. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 3 June 2026

Patel said the 10 hostages were all employees of the superintendent’s office and that five of them were tied up during the roughly 12-hour standoff with police. —Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 3 June 2026

Five of the 10 hostages were tied up during the ordeal, according to authorities, who noted that nobody was physically harmed. —Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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