tie-up
[ tahy-uhp ]
/ ˈtaɪˌʌp /
noun
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.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Origin of tie-up
First recorded in 1705–15; noun use of verb phrase tie up
Words nearby tie-up
tie tack, Tietê, tie the knot, tie, tied, Tietze's syndrome, tie-up, tiff, Tiffanie, tiffany, Tiffany glass, Tiffany setting
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for tie-up
British Dictionary definitions for tie-up
tie up
verb (adverb)
noun tie-up
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
Idioms and Phrases with tie-up
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.
Impede the progress of, block, as in The accident tied up traffic for hours. [Late 1500s]
Keep occupied, engage, as in She was tied up in a meeting all morning. [Late 1800s]
Make funds or property inaccessible for other uses, as in Her cash is tied up in government bonds. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.