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• tie-in
  tie-in

  adjective

  pertaining to or designating a sale in which the buyer in order to get the item desired must also purchase one or more other, usually undesired, items.
• tie in
  tie in

  verb

  to come or bring into a certain relationship; coordinate

tie-in

American  

[tahy-in] / ˈtaɪˌɪn /

adjective

1. pertaining to or designating a sale in which the buyer in order to get the item desired must also purchase one or more other, usually undesired, items.

2. of or relating to two or more products advertised, marketed, or sold together.

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noun

1. an arrangement or campaign whereby related products are promoted, marketed, or sold together.

   a book and movie tie-in.

2. a tie-in sale or advertisement.

3. an item in a tie-in sale or advertisement.

4. any direct or indirect link, relationship, or connection.

   There is a tie-in between smoking and cancer.

tie in British  

verb

1. to come or bring into a certain relationship; coordinate

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noun

1. a link, relationship, or coordination

2. publicity material, a book, tape, etc, linked to a film or broadcast programme or series

3. 1. a sale or advertisement offering products of which a purchaser must buy one or more in addition to his purchase

   2. an item sold or advertised in this way, esp the extra item

   3. ( as modifier )

      a tie-in sale

tie in Idioms  

1. Connect closely with, coordinate, as in They are trying to tie in the movie promotion with the book it is based on, or His story does not tie in with the facts. [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of tie-in

First recorded in 1920–25; adj., noun use of verb phrase tie in

Example Sentences

Thousand Oaks 4, Westlake 3: Preston Lee contributed an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh and lift Thousand Oaks to victory.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

"When I was a kid I used to eat champ by the bowlful, so trying to tie in a little bit of my upbringing there," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Kalshi’s prediction market had a tie in the category at only a 2% likelihood, but Polymarket did not give its traders the option to predict a tie.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

The occasion is as rare as you’d expect: this marks the seventh tie in Oscars history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

With some good newspaper publicity to tie in with the opening of Levy Shorts.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole