Jump To:

• tie-up
  tie-up

  noun

  a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.
• tie up
  tie up

  verb

  (tr) to attach or bind securely with or as if with string, rope, etc

tie-up

American  

[tahy-uhp] / ˈtaɪˌʌp /

noun

• tie-ups
  plural

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 British  

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. an informal term for traffic jam

tie up Idioms  

1. Fasten securely; also, moor a ship. For example, Can you help me tie up these bundles? or The forecast was terrible, so we decided to tie up at the dock and wait out the storm . The first usage dates from the early 1500s, the nautical usage from the mid-1800s.

2. Impede the progress of, block, as in The accident tied up traffic for hours . [Late 1500s]

3. Keep occupied, engage, as in She was tied up in a meeting all morning . [Late 1800s]

4. Make funds or property inaccessible for other uses, as in Her cash is tied up in government bonds . [Early 1800s]

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tie-ups
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of tie-up

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

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tie-up tie up tie-ups

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets, led by Srini Pajjuri, see further benefits to the potential tie-up.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

A potential tie-up between DoorDash and Instacart would help the delivery apps address the two biggest elephants in the room for the grocery industry: Walmart and Amazon.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

But questions about Tesla's future loomed larger with talk of the potential SpaceX tie-up.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

The tie-up with Apple shows the changing demands for work skills, including using the latest technology for young people wanting to build careers in the music and creative industries.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

“A night tie-up on open water? Can this be done speedily, in the manner of an attack? Could a man who wanted to make a boarding against another’s will even do so? Is it possible?”

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

“The tie up between these two companies could create a little more monopolistic power,” said Scott Hanson, a financial advisor and co-foonder of Allworth Financial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Without the right protections, a dispute could tie up millions of dollars.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

He returned to New York to tie up loose ends and attended synagogue during the fast of Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Nunez dismissed the idea saying it would "tie up almost half of the security deployment".

From Barron's ● May 31, 2026

“We’re still days away from any true ending, but I can tie up a few loose ends before we call it a night.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Labour councillors require the approval of the party's NEC before entering into local tie-ups.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Big corporate tie-ups are always delicate affairs, involving integrating systems, replacing signs and branding and making sure a newly combined workforce gets along.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

The tie-ups were unveiled after CEO Jensen Huang spent the weekend eating barbecue in Seoul with the country's tech leaders and appearing on a popular TV show.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

The partnership is the latest in a string of tie-ups between pharma majors and Chinese companies, and grants Lilly exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of programs across multiple therapeutic areas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

That afternoon, when Mr. Zuckerman went to milk the cows and clean out the tie-ups, he was still thinking about what a wondrous pig he owned.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• closure
• gridlock
• interruption
• layoff
• shutdown

---