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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

Frequently of questionable quality, the tie-in games felt to many players like a cash grab profiting from the movies' marketing campaigns.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

Yashinsky said the chain, which once ran about two or three movie tie-in promos annually, had scaled back to just one annually in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Microsoft’s agents do have names, albeit without a Broadway musical tie-in, said Chief People Officer Amy Coleman, also speaking at the Summit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Like the last time, Coates didn’t give a name, but he said something even more intriguing: “The sheriff is my tie-in to the state attorney general because he’s friends.”

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2025

I remember calling out to a certain second grader who was reading a Star Wars tie-in comic on the tire swing.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer