tie

American  

[tahy] / taɪ /

verb (used with object)

ties, present (3rd person singular) tied, past participle, past tying present participle

1. to bind, fasten, or attach with a cord, string, or the like, drawn together and knotted.

   to tie a tin can on a dog's tail.

   Antonyms:

   loosen, loose

2. to draw together the parts of with a knotted string or the like.

   to tie a bundle tight.

3. to fasten by tightening and knotting the string or strings of.

   to tie one's shoes.

4. to draw or fasten together into a knot, as a cord.

   to tie one's shoelace.

5. to form by looping and interlacing, as a knot or bow.

6. to fasten, join, or connect in any way.

   Synonyms:

   lock, yoke, knit, link, unite

7. Angling. to design and make (an artificial fly).

8. to bind or join closely or firmly.

   Great affection tied them.

9. Informal. to unite in marriage.

10. to confine, restrict, or limit.

    The weather tied him to the house.

11. to bind or oblige, as to do something.

    Synonyms:

    constrain, obligate

12. to make the same score as; equal in a contest.

13. Music. to connect (notes) by a tie.

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verb (used without object)

ties, present (3rd person singular) tied, past participle, past tying present participle

1. to make a tie, bond, or connection.

2. to make or be the same score; be equal in a contest.

   The teams tied for first place in the league.

noun

ties plural

1. that with which anything is tied.

2. a cord, string, or the like, used for tying, fastening, binding, or wrapping something.

   Synonyms:

   ligature, band, rope

3. a necktie.

   Synonyms:

   cravat

4. a low shoe fastened with a lace.

5. a knot, especially an ornamental one; bow.

6. anything that fastens, secures, or unites.

7. a bond or connection, as of affection, kinship, mutual interest, or between two or more people, groups, nations, or the like.

   family ties; the ties between Britain and the U.S.

8. a state of equality in the result of a contest, as in points scored, votes obtained, etc., among competitors.

   The game ended in a tie.

9. a match or contest in which this occurs.

10. any of various structural members, as beams or rods, for keeping two objects, as rafters or the haunches of an arch, from spreading or separating.

11. Music. a curved line connecting two notes on the same line or space to indicate that the sound is to be sustained for their joint value, not repeated.

12. especially British, sleeper.  Railroads. any of a number of closely spaced transverse beams, usually of wood, for holding the rails forming a track at the proper distance from each other and for transmitting train loads to the ballast and roadbed.

13. bride.

14. Surveying. a measurement made to determine the position of a survey station with respect to a reference mark or other isolated point.

verb phrase

1. tie in

   1. to connect or be connected; be consistent.

      His story ties in with the facts.

   2. Surveying. to establish the position of (a point not part of a survey control).

   3. to make a tie-in, especially in advertising or a sale.

      The paperback book is tied in with the movie of the same title.

2. tie up

   1. to fasten securely by tying.

   2. to wrap; bind.

   3. to hinder; impede.

   4. to bring to a stop; make inactive.

   5. to invest or place (money) in such a way as to render unavailable for other uses.

   6. to place (property) under such conditions or restrictions as to prevent sale or alienation.

   7. to moor a ship.

   8. to engage or occupy completely.

      I can't see you now, I'm all tied up.

3. tie off to tie a cord or suture around (a vein, blood vessel, or the like) so as to stop the flow within.

4. tie down to limit one's activities; confine; curtail.

   He finds that a desk job ties him down.

idioms

1. tie one on, to get drunk.

   Charlie sure tied one on last night!

2. tie the knot. knot.

tie British  

/ taɪ /

verb

1. to fasten or be fastened with string, thread, etc

2. to make (a knot or bow) in (something)

   to tie a knot

   tie a ribbon

3. (tr) to restrict or secure

4. to equal the score of a competitor or fellow candidate

5. informal (tr) to unite in marriage

6. music

   1. to execute (two successive notes of the same pitch) as though they formed one note of composite time value

   2. to connect (two printed notes) with a tie

7. slang very angry or upset

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noun

1. a bond, link, or fastening

2. a restriction or restraint

3. a string, wire, ribbon, etc, with which something is tied

4. US name: necktie.  a long narrow piece of material worn, esp by men, under the collar of a shirt, tied in a knot close to the throat with the ends hanging down the front

5. 1. an equality in score, attainment, etc, in a contest

   2. the match or competition in which such a result is attained

6. a structural member carrying tension, such as a tie beam or tie rod

7. sport a match or game in an eliminating competition

   a cup tie

8. (usually plural) a shoe fastened by means of laces

9. the US and Canadian name for sleeper

10. music a slur connecting two notes of the same pitch indicating that the sound is to be prolonged for their joint time value

11. surveying one of two measurements running from two points on a survey line to a point of detail to fix its position

12. lacemaking another name for bride 2

Synonym Usage

See bond ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undertie
  noun
• retie
  verb (used with object)
• undertie
  verb (used with object)
• well-tied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ties
  plural

Participles

• tying
  present
• tied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tie
  simple
• ties
  simple
• have tied
  perfect
• has tied
  perfect
• am tying
  progressive
• are tying
  progressive
• is tying
  progressive
• have been tying
  perfect progressive
• has been tying
  perfect progressive

Past

• tied
  simple
• had tied
  perfect
• was tying
  progressive
• were tying
  progressive
• had been tying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tie
  simple
• will have tied
  perfect
• will be tying
  progressive
• will have been tying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tie

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English te(i)gh “cord, rope,” Old English tēagh, tēgh, cognate with Old Norse taug rope; (verb) Middle English tien, Old English tīgan, derivative of the noun; compare Old Norse teygja “to draw”; see tug, tow ¹

Explanation

A tie is a thin piece of cloth that's knotted around the neck, an accessory worn by men on formal occasions. You may wear a tie to graduation, a wedding, or if you're just trying to impress someone. If the score of a game is equal, then the game is a tie. Some games, like chess, can actually end in a tie, but other games, like basketball, continue until there's a winner. You can also use the word tie as a verb: "Looks like the game will tie at two apiece." As a verb, tie also means to fasten two or more things together, like when you tie your shoelaces or your tie.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tie ties tied tying

Discovery WBD -0.69%decrease; down pointing triangle are at the altar—but can’t tie the knot quite yet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

That said, he did swap his trademark dark T-Shirt and jacket for a suit and tie, although he has maintained his regular output of casual, selfie-led videos on his social media channels.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Price told Sky Sports he was "happy" to reach the final, but "getting one up" on good friend Clayton was his main focus going into the tie.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

He returned to New York to tie up loose ends and attended synagogue during the fast of Tisha B’Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the ancient temple in Jerusalem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

He needed a way to tie Abby to the tree, so she couldn’t fall off.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Andrea Pirlo has said he is no longer a candidate to coach the Italian national side following days of controversy over his ties to a Russian betting company.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Eston cut off ties with his whole family,” Dorothy said.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

The extra distance raises freight and insurance costs, ties up ships and can delay deliveries by weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

In between trading impromptu quips, Martin and Lewis overturned tables, cut ties, sheared suits and spritzed seltzer on one and all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

We looked for ties to match and found a perfect one, but I could not tie it because I did not know how.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

Delaware Life executives told one credit rating firm they were unaware the loans were made to entities tied to Walter, the Journal reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

According to the Met Office, rainfall in England this month is at 4.4mm, one of the lowest levels on record - tied with June 1925 and behind only February 1891 when 3.3mm were recorded.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Huijin, the state-investment arm that acts as China’s plunge-protection team, stepped back into the market last week, buying broad-based exchange-traded funds tied to stock indices to stabilize the market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Leveraged ETFs tied to chipmaker SK Hynix were pummeled Tuesday, amid a punishing selloff in semiconductor stocks this month as whiplash around the powerful artificial-intelligence trade continues.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

With an odd sense of giving up an unwelcome burden, Torak handed her the ravenskin pouch, and she tied it to her belt.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

To overcome this reluctance and ensure that only people interested in tying the knot joined, those signing up had to prove that they were legally single and pass an online interview, among other conditions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Anthropic and Advanced Micro Devices have signed a major new deal tying the artificial-intelligence leaders closer together from both a business perspective and a financial perspective.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Ranked No. 56th in the world, Fox only stormed into contention with an 8-under 62 on Saturday, tying for the lowest round ever at a major.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Adeel Khan, 32, and Imran Chowdhury, 26, have pleaded not guilty to helping former soldier Khalife escape from HMP Wandsworth by tying himself to the bottom of a delivery truck in September 2023.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

I could tell that Aunt Kitty’s well of patience was not particularly deep, so I quickly began fastening the tiny front hooks before she could start yanking and tying the back laces.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Related Words

• attach
• clinch
• join
• knot
• link
• secure