tie-up
1 of 2noun
ˈtī-ˌəp 
1
: a slowdown or stoppage of traffic, business, or operation (as by a mechanical breakdown)
2
: connection, association
helpful financial tie-ups
3
a
: a cow stable
also : a space for a single cow in a stable
b
: a mooring place for a boat
tie up
2 of 2verb
tied up; tying up or tieing up; ties up
transitive verb
1
: to attach, fasten, or bind securely
also : to wrap up and fasten
2
a
: to connect closely : join
tie up the loose ends
b
: to cause to be linked so as to depend on or relate to something
3
a
: to place or invest in such a manner as to make unavailable for other purposes
their money was tied up in stocks
b
: to restrain from normal movement, operation, or progress
traffic was tied up for miles
4
a
: to keep busy
was tied up in conference all day
b
: to preempt the use of
tied up the phone for an hour
intransitive verb
1
: dock entry 2
the ferry ties up at the south slip
2
: to assume a definite relationship
this ties up with what I told you before
Synonyms
Noun
- backup
- bottleneck
- jam
- jam-up
- logjam
- snarl
- tailback [British]
Verb
- clog
- cramp
- embarrass
- encumber
- fetter
- hamper
- handcuff
- handicap
- hinder
- hobble
- hog-tie
- hold back
- hold up
- impede
- inhibit
- interfere (with)
- manacle
- obstruct
- shackle
- short-circuit
- stymie
- trammel
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway
Recent Examples on the Web
Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2022 But back in the Dreaming, the Sandman still has some loose ends to tie up. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2022 In order to tie up its biggest star, the last-place club in the National League East offered him a deal reportedly worth almost half a billion dollars for up to 15 years. Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Dropshipping presents much lower risk, as well as the possibility to add significantly more products to the inventory, with no need to tie up working capital. Tejas Dave, Forbes, 15 July 2022 The men removed a cord from a speaker in a bedroom to use to tie up the woman, the complaint says. Kaylee Remington, cleveland, 29 June 2022 Average house prices in the U.K. hit a record 269,945 pounds in September as buyers rushed to tie up deals before a property tax cut came to an end. Andrew Atkinson, Bloomberg.com, 17 Nov. 2021 The man who could brain Mr. Lingk with Rusty’s ashes, or the one who could harm and tie up a helpless old lady, would almost certainly be game for something that nasty. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2022 Living with the consequences of an extended Chinese hiatus from the world’s airports has prompted Dufry to tie up with Alibaba in the hope of expansion in the Chinese market. Kevin Rozario, Forbes, 20 May 2022 See More
Verb
Once audited, pass this information or get advice from a sector-specific brand strategist who can help tie up design, copy and tonality into one all-encompassing vision. Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2022 But back in the Dreaming, the Sandman still has some loose ends to tie up. Alex Raiman, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2022 In order to tie up its biggest star, the last-place club in the National League East offered him a deal reportedly worth almost half a billion dollars for up to 15 years. Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Dropshipping presents much lower risk, as well as the possibility to add significantly more products to the inventory, with no need to tie up working capital. Tejas Dave, Forbes, 15 July 2022 The men removed a cord from a speaker in a bedroom to use to tie up the woman, the complaint says. Kaylee Remington, cleveland, 29 June 2022 Average house prices in the U.K. hit a record 269,945 pounds in September as buyers rushed to tie up deals before a property tax cut came to an end. Andrew Atkinson, Bloomberg.com, 17 Nov. 2021 The man who could brain Mr. Lingk with Rusty’s ashes, or the one who could harm and tie up a helpless old lady, would almost certainly be game for something that nasty. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2022 Living with the consequences of an extended Chinese hiatus from the world’s airports has prompted Dufry to tie up with Alibaba in the hope of expansion in the Chinese market. Kevin Rozario, Forbes, 20 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1851, in the meaning defined at sense 3a
Verb
1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
tying up
verb
variants or tieing up
as in holding back
to create difficulty for the work or activity of an accident is tying up traffic at 5th and Broadway Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- holding back
- hampering
- holding up
- giving a hard time
- interfering (with)
- cramping one's style
- trammelling
- blocking
- hindering
- impeding
- cramping
- handicapping
- manacling
- obstructing
- inhibiting
- disrupting
- encumbering
- clogging
- delaying
- hobbling
- embarrassing
- handcuffing
- shackling
- fettering
- choking
- tying
- stymieing
- trammeling
- braking
- hog-tying
- short-circuiting
- curbing
- tieing
- checking
- restraining
- binding
- reining
- bogging (down)
- tethering
- balking
- constraining
- retarding
- retaining
- chaining
- hedging (in)
- hemming (in)
- barricading
- haltering
- arresting
- thwarting
- blockading
- leashing
- frustrating
- derailing
- foiling
- roadblocking
- baffling
- miring
- suffocating
- sabotaging
- smothering
- stifling
- strangling
- confining
- stumping
- repressing
- muzzling
- suppressing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- helping
- assisting
- facilitating
- aiding
- opening
- making way
- clearing
- releasing
- freeing
- liberating
- promoting
- unplugging
- smoothing
- loosening
- encouraging
- unclogging
- unstopping
- furthering
- untying
- untieing