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

• backup
• bottleneck
• jam
• jam-up
• logjam
• snarl
• tailback [British]

Verb

• clog
• cramp
• embarrass
• encumber
• fetter
• hamper
• handcuff
• handicap
• hinder
• hobble
• hog-tie
• hold back
• hold up
• impede
• inhibit
• interfere (with)
• manacle
• obstruct
• shackle
• short-circuit
• stymie
• trammel

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

Yes, but: Energy regulators are still navigating the recent wave of deals between nuclear plants and data centers, and some worry that the tie-ups could threaten grid reliability and raise utility bills. —Katie Fehrenbacher, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024

Execs at both companies see the tie-up as a merger of equals, not one party acquiring the other. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

This isn’t necessarily new but the difference is how the gallery is tied up with the exhibition of certain kinds of cinema, which is slightly worrying. —Zac Ntim, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2024

Bezos’ fortune, which is mostly tied up in Amazon shares, rose as much as $12.2 billion after market open from $204.3 billion the day prior, the largest daily jump in net worth for any billionaire on Friday. —Lindsey Choo, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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