tie-up

[tahy-uhp]

noun

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.

tie up

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

noun

1. a link or connection

2. a standstill

3. an informal term for traffic jam

Word History and Origins

Origin of tie up¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

The tie-up is the latest in a wave of collaborations between Chinese companies and international pharma majors looking to expand their global reach and tap promising drug pipelines developing in China.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In a bid to bulk up their respective streaming services, Apple and NBCUniversal have agreed to offer Peacock and Apple TV together — another major tie-up between competitors.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Truist analysts in a research note attribute the increase to touts from investors who claim the tie-up could boost earnings to over $5 a share once complete.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The tie-up needs approval from both companies’ shareholders as well as regulators.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But the tie-up strengthens the existing business before Mama’s expands into those areas, according to Des Lauriers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• closure 
• gridlock 
• interruption 
• layoff 
• shutdown