tie-up
a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.
the act or state of tying up or the state of being tied up.
an involvement, connection, or entanglement: the tie-up between the two companies; his tie-up with the crime syndicate.
a mooring place; place where a boat may be tied up.
a cow barn with stalls.
a stall allotted to each cow in such a barn.
Origin of tie-up
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use tie-up in a sentence
No matter how I proceeded, I would not be able to tie up its myriad strands.
A Mathematically Impossible Novel: Manil Suri Explains “The City of Devi” | Manil Suri | March 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBaum asked about ropes such as Valle said would be used to tie up victims.
As I packed up to leave Philadelphia, I decided to tie up loose ends, including Shon.
Busting a Cyberstalker: How Carla Franklin Fought Back—and Triumphed | Abigail Pesta | October 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the deceptively mild words of John Whittingdale, chairman of the committee, the MPs now want to “tie up a few loose ends.”
So make haste this week to tie up loose ends, especially the busy work of returning calls and emails.
First of all, wrap a portion of damp newspaper round the roots, and then tie up with dry paper.
How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard BastinBud went out with ropes to catch and tie up the burros and their two saddle horses.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerWhalers and merchantmen used to tie up there a hundred years ago, where now only fishing boats come.
The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton"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.
The Way of a Man | Emerson HoughHe was to tie up for the night at a little village near Marly-le-Roi.
The Rose of Old St. Louis | Mary Dillon
British Dictionary definitions for tie up
(tr) to attach or bind securely with or as if with string, rope, etc
to moor (a vessel)
(tr; often passive) to engage the attentions of: he's tied up at the moment and can't see you
(tr; often passive) to conclude (the organization of something): the plans for the trip were tied up well in advance
to come or bring to a complete standstill
(tr) to invest or commit (funds, etc) and so make unavailable for other uses
(tr) to subject (property) to conditions that prevent sale, alienation, or other action
a link or connection
mainly US and Canadian a standstill
mainly US and Canadian an informal term for traffic jam
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with tie-up
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.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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