tie-up

[ tahy-uhp ]

noun

1. a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.
2. the act or state of tying up or the state of being tied up.
3. an involvement, connection, or entanglement:

   the tie-up between the two companies; his tie-up with the crime syndicate.

4. a mooring place; place where a boat may be tied up.
5. a cow barn with stalls.
6. a stall allotted to each cow in such a barn.

tie up

verb

1. tr to attach or bind securely with or as if with string, rope, etc
2. to moor (a vessel)
3. tr; often passive to engage the attentions of

   he's tied up at the moment and can't see you

4. tr; often passive to conclude (the organization of something)

   the plans for the trip were tied up well in advance

5. to come or bring to a complete standstill
6. tr to invest or commit (funds, etc) and so make unavailable for other uses
7. tr to subject (property) to conditions that prevent sale, alienation, or other action

noun

1. a link or connection
2. a standstill
3. See traffic jam
   an informal term for traffic jam

Word History and Origins

Origin of tie-up¹

First recorded in 1705–15; noun use of verb phrase tie up

Example Sentences

No matter how I proceeded, I would not be able to tie up its myriad strands.

From The Daily Beast

Baum asked about ropes such as Valle said would be used to tie up victims.

From The Daily Beast

As I packed up to leave Philadelphia, I decided to tie up loose ends, including Shon.

From The Daily Beast

In the deceptively mild words of John Whittingdale, chairman of the committee, the MPs now want to “tie up a few loose ends.”

From The Daily Beast

So make haste this week to tie up loose ends, especially the busy work of returning calls and emails.

From The Daily Beast

First of all, wrap a portion of damp newspaper round the roots, and then tie up with dry paper.

From Project Gutenberg

Bud went out with ropes to catch and tie up the burros and their two saddle horses.

From Project Gutenberg

Whalers and merchantmen used to tie up there a hundred years ago, where now only fishing boats come.

From Project Gutenberg

"I tie up his head so that he cannot see, or smell, and so fall to neighing to the other horses," I explained to her.

From Project Gutenberg

He was to tie up for the night at a little village near Marly-le-Roi.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• closure
• gridlock
• interruption
• layoff
• shutdown