tie-up
[tahy-uhp]
- 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.
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Origin of tie-up
First recorded in 1705–15; noun use of verb phrase tie up
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
closure, interruption, layoff, gridlock, shutdown, down, standstill, obstruction, blockage, discontinuance, occlusion, downtime, deduction, arrest, jam, abeyance, hindrance, stopping, close, immobilizationExamples from the Web for tie-up
Contemporary Examples
Buckling down to tie-up loose ends is key to lightening your mental load.
Historical Examples
Complications arising from the tie-up followed him at every turn.
Whispering SmithFrank H. Spearman
A tie-up of cars on the track ahead was accountable for the delay.
Mary Ware's Promised LandAnnie Fellows Johnston
Then came the great railroad strike, and the tie-up of the mails.
Bamboo TalesIra L. Reeves
There was a tie-up on Earth, and the tie-up had to be on the very inside of the Supreme Council!
Beyond The ThunderH. B. Hickey
By eight o'clock it was clear that the tie-up would be only partial.
A Poor Wise ManMary Roberts Rinehart