untie
Americanverb (used with object)
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unties,
present (3rd person singular)
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untied,
past participle, past
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untying
present participle
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to loose or unfasten (anything tied); let or set loose by undoing a knot.
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to undo the string or cords of.
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to undo, as a cord or a knot; unknot.
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to free from restraint.
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to resolve, as perplexities.
verb (used without object)
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unties,
present (3rd person singular)
-
untied,
past participle, past
-
untying
present participle
verb
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to unfasten or free (a knot or something that is tied) or (of a knot or something that is tied) to become unfastened
-
(tr) to free from constraint or restriction
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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untiesimple
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untiessimple
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have untiedperfect
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has untiedperfect
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am untyingprogressive
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are untyingprogressive
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is untyingprogressive
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have been untyingperfect progressive
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has been untyingperfect progressive
Past
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untiedsimple
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had untiedperfect
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was untyingprogressive
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were untyingprogressive
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had been untyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of untie
before 1000; Middle English untyen, Old English untīegan. See un- 2, tie
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"These cuts and reductions untie perpetrators' hands everywhere, leaving them to do whatever they please. With crises mounting, we cannot afford a human rights system in crisis," he added.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
As a gesture of true camaraderie, they grin and untie their own blue pañuelos and tie these kerchiefs around our necks.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
TSA has often been a crapshoot, risking pileups as travelers pulled laptops from carry-ons and novice vacationers struggled to untie their sneakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
"The person who tied the bell must untie it," he added.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2025
Ivy tried to breathe it in, like the color could untie the sudden knot in her throat.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Under Mr. Cullman’s incisive direction the entire cast unties the emotional knots of the characters with impressive dexterity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
On her deathbed, she finally unties the ribbon.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2022
QUANTICO, Va. — Curator Owen L. Conner carefully unties the ribbon around the weathered slats and removes the storage paper.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 18, 2021
Binoche, dancing in front of an air vent, unties a long, thick braid and shakes her black hair loose.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 5, 2019
Malcolm sits at the edge of the bed and unties his shoes.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
But two years after the Supreme Court untied their hands, Grants Pass has not solved homelessness, and things have gone from bad to worse.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
She and Melissa take it out, and then they realize they have to put it back in so he doesn't know that they're untied.
From Salon ● May 1, 2025
Under the glare of fluorescent lights in her lab she slowly untied it, piece by piece, to expose the fabric for the first time in more than three decades.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025
Watkins said after practice Wednesday with the sneakers untied and strewn on the floor at her feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
Anne sighed, untied her hair ribbon and came in.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Mother and daughter enacted a meditative, loose exchange, taking turns carefully tying and untying each other for nearly two hours with the jute rope that is traditionally used in their family’s region of Guadalajara.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
But those surveyed by Pew also acknowledged that untying their countries and themselves from China was "not a pragmatic goal" from an economic standpoint.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2023
"We're untying our own hands with the update on unfair and deceptive practices," he said.
From Reuters ● Sep. 7, 2022
Groff’s dialogue, tying and untying ideological knots as she sketches their positions, keeps what could be leaden exposition bubbling.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2021
He just walks to his bunk and sits down, untying his shoelaces.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
