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• tie-up
  tie-up

  noun

  a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.
• tie up
  tie up

  verb

  (tr) to attach or bind securely with or as if with string, rope, etc

tie-up

American  

[tahy-uhp] / ˈtaɪˌʌp /

noun

tie-ups plural

1. a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.

2. the act or state of tying up or the state of being tied up.

3. an involvement, connection, or entanglement.

   the tie-up between the two companies; his tie-up with the crime syndicate.

4. a mooring place; place where a boat may be tied up.

5. a cow barn with stalls.

6. a stall allotted to each cow in such a barn.

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tie up British  

verb

1. (tr) to attach or bind securely with or as if with string, rope, etc

2. to moor (a vessel)

3. (tr; often passive) to engage the attentions of

   he's tied up at the moment and can't see you

4. (tr; often passive) to conclude (the organization of something)

   the plans for the trip were tied up well in advance

5. to come or bring to a complete standstill

6. (tr) to invest or commit (funds, etc) and so make unavailable for other uses

7. (tr) to subject (property) to conditions that prevent sale, alienation, or other action

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noun

1. a link or connection

2. a standstill

3. an informal term for traffic jam

tie up Idioms  

1. 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.

2. Impede the progress of, block, as in The accident tied up traffic for hours . [Late 1500s]

3. Keep occupied, engage, as in She was tied up in a meeting all morning . [Late 1800s]

4. Make funds or property inaccessible for other uses, as in Her cash is tied up in government bonds . [Early 1800s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tie-ups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tie-up

First recorded in 1705–15; noun use of verb phrase tie up

Example Sentences

Back-to-back wins mean it looks increasingly likely Leeds will avoid the drop, so boss Daniel Farke will have to tie up a few loose ends with his goalkeepers.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

The Amazon-Globalstar tie up is mixed news for Iridium and AST SpaceMobile.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

While this can be a nice savings hack, note that you’ll have to tie up a lot of money in gift cards to maximize your savings.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

The companies also tie up with affiliate users, who can get money paid into their accounts for each new person they sign up through referral codes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

“No. We managed to tie up in the dark, didn’t we? Once we can see, in the morning, we’ll find our way back.”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• closure
• gridlock
• interruption
• layoff
• shutdown