untie

verb un·tie \ ˌən-ˈtī \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of untie

untied; untying or untieing

transitive verb

1 : to free from something that ties, fastens, or restrains : unbind

untied our hands

2 a : to disengage the knotted parts of

untie a shoe

b : disentangle, resolve

untie a traffic jam

intransitive verb

: to become loosened or unbound

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Examples of untie in a Sentence

He untied the package and opened it.
She untied the horse from the post.

Recent Examples of untie from the Web

Truman unties his binding and stumbles across the deck to the side rail.

— darryn king, WIRED, "Director Andrew Niccol Lives in His Own Truman Show (And So Do You)," 4 May 2018
Betty unties Chic at gunpoint and leads him out of the Cooper house and to a park.

— amy mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Riverdale Season 2 Episode 19 Brought the Drama," 26 Apr. 2018
Your pain has ceased, your hands untied, fly free now.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Kenneth S. McGinnis," 26 Apr. 2018
Unbeaten, untied and yet undeserving, the University of Central Florida stakes its claim to college football’s national championship thanks to a soft schedule and in defiance of a hard-hearted playoff format.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "A little chaos never hurt college football | Tim Sullivan," 13 Jan. 2018
But as de Lesseps turned the other way to face the crowded room at Studio 54, Morgan seemed to quickly untie the back of her wrap dress to completely expose herself.

— Fox News, "'Real Housewives' star Sonja Morgan's dress comes off during Luann de Lesseps' cabaret show," 9 Mar. 2018
The pair sprinted back to the boat, untied it, and approached from downstream as the woman and EMT held onto a chain against the current, Gazdecki said.

— detroit free press staff, Detroit Free Press, "Mail boat captain, partner honored for heroic Detroit River rescue of pregnant woman, cop," 6 Feb. 2018
Video obtained by the Escondido Police Department shows two men, one on foot and one on a bicycle, untying Little Girl’s halter strap from a fence 12 feet away from where Sears was sleeping and leading her away just after midnight.

— pam kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Traveler reunited with stolen mule in Escondido," 26 Feb. 2018
And with their extreme attention to detail, Virgo will never exit the house without double-checking that no blouse has been left untucked, no shoelace is untied, and no stray hair has fallen out of place.

— alice bell, Vogue, "How to Shop in 2018, According to Your Horoscope," 10 Jan. 2018

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