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• tie-down
  tie-down

  noun

  a device for tying something down.
• tie down
  tie down

  Constrain, confine, or limit, as in As long as the children were small, she was too tied down to look for a job. [Late 1600s]

tie-down

American  

[tahy-doun] / ˈtaɪˌdaʊn /

noun

1. a device for tying something down.

2. the act of tying something down.

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tie down Idioms  

1. Constrain, confine, or limit, as in As long as the children were small, she was too tied down to look for a job. [Late 1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of tie-down

Noun use of verb phrase tie down

Example Sentences

So, Hearn gravitated to events like tie-down calf roping, where he was judged primarily by a clock, not a human.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

And that doesn’t even take into account automated tie-down systems to secure a wheelchair once inside a vehicle.

From The Verge • Jul. 2, 2021

The Bonanza that Schank co-owns with two partners is stored in a $140-per-month uncovered tie-down near the runways.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2019

At the end of September, we completed the static engine "tie-down" tests, demonstrating that the Rolls-Royce jet engine would give us more power in these slow speed tests than we had been expecting.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2017

He tore it into narrow strips and tied them together to make a rope or tie-down about four feet long.

From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• confine
• constrain
• control
• curb
• curtail
• detain
• deter
• govern
• hamper
• hinder
• inhibit
• keep down
• kill
• limit
• prevent
• repress
• restrict
• subdue
• suppress