1with object and usually with adverbial Attach or fasten with string or similar cord.

1. 1.1 Fasten (something) to or round someone or something by means of its strings or by forming the ends into a knot or bow.
   Lewis tied on his apron

   Example sentencesExamples

   • I hung my backpack under my name tag and took an apron, tying it with more force than was intended.
   • The red fluid slowly stopped, and she tied some bandage cloths around her to prevent further bleeding.
   • The easiest way to practice this knot is to try tying pieces of string to a nail.
   • Vincent slashed the string that was tied around Audrey's hair.
   • How about reaching up your back from behind as if you wanted to fasten some buttons or tie an apron on?
   • He wore some sort of leather strapped over a filthy wool shirt, and around his head was tied a strip of cloth that might have originally been green silk.
   • After cutting them into strips, he tied them around his legs.
   • Her deep sleeved robe of pure white was tied with golden cords around her petite waist, the light, airy hem of her skirt danced around her ankles as she reached them.
   • Then tie a piece of string around one end of the roll and knot firmly.
   • Cutting off the sleeve, I tore it into one large strip, and tied it around my wound.
   • Alexia reached for the apron and tied it around herself with some difficulty.
   • Then he tore off a long strip and tied it about his forehead in order to disguise the red marking.
   • She felt a ragged strip of cloth being tied around the back of her head.
   • She tore two strips off the clean partitions of the bandage and tied them around the bridges of her feet.
   • He bandaged her wounds and tied them tight to stop the bleeding.
   • ‘Much obliged,’ I said, putting on the apron and tying a scarf around my head.
   • A strip of cloth was tied around his right shin, presumably to hold the bottom of his pants together from a rather large tear.
   • I unrolled the bandage and started tying it around her head.
   • I leaned down and worked to undo the cords that had been tied around her wrists.
   • As usual, he wore his long, straight colourless hair down, and tied a blue designed headband around his head.

   Synonyms

   do up
2. 1.2 Form (a string, ribbon, or lace) into a knot or bow.
   Renwick bent to tie his shoelace

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Just as she finished tying the last of the ribbons, she heard a knock on the door.
   • I sit on the edge of the bed, and pull on my black Vans, tying the hot pink shoelaces.
   • The tone of his voice suggested that he was talking to a feeble-minded minion who couldn't be trusted to tie his or her own shoe laces.
   • Jocelyn slipped her arms through the short sleeves and Sylvie told her to hold still while she tied the golden ribbon lacing up the back; it ended with a bow at her waist.
   • Chastity bent down to tie her shoelace, and after succeeding in making it into a perfect bow, she looked up and examined the locker room.
   • Make certain you wear shoes suitable for climbing and working on a ladder, and that the shoe laces are tied.
   • I quickly bent down to tie the bothersome laces and walked back to my desk, leaving Greg to put away the rest of the equipment.
   • As well as these basic manners, youngsters are not being shown skills like how to sit still, to tie shoelaces and fasten buttons.
   • At their Dallas home, a friend has tied 100 yellow ribbons around front-yard trees.
   • She quickly braided her hair and tied a white ribbon at the end, grabbing a matching straw bonnet before heading downstairs to join her husband for breakfast.
   • However, he still suffers co-ordination problems with his left hand making it difficult for him to tie shoelaces and fasten buttons, and is a bit slower when giving answers to questions.
   • Without bothering to dry her hair she loosely braided it and tied a black ribbon at the bottom.
   • I finished tying the ribbons into a bow under her chin.
   • Soon enough, her hair was braided, and Lucia was tying the ribbon into a bow.
   • I called for some water and bent down to tie my shoelace.
3. 1.3 Form (a knot or bow) in a ribbon, lace, etc.
   tie a knot in one end of the cotton

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Demonstrate how to thread a needle and tie a knot.
   • It was a process a bit like tying a granny knot: twisting one edge of the sausage rope into a loop, then threading the other end through, looping it, and twisting again.
   • Maggie stepped up and started pulling at the frayed knots that were tied around his ankles.
   • Then he brushed his knee-length hair one hundred strokes, braided it, and tied it back with a piece of green ribbon, simply knotting it instead of tying a bow.
   • A characteristic of a quality tie is one that has been cut across the fabric so that it allows the tie to fall straightforward after the knot has been tied.
   • Cut the string before inserting, of course, or tie a knot first for easy removal.
   • Run ribbon through the holes and tie a bow at the side.
   • You may decide that the knots need to be tied tighter, looser or in larger or smaller sections.
   • She's so excited that she takes a blue ribbon out of her hair and just ties a bow around it.
   • A double turn blood knot will do the trick, or tie a few granny knots in the tail link.
   • In next to no time, I stepped in and tied a perfect lattigo knot in nothing flat.
   • Keep the loops tight, and they will hold the laces in place while you tie your final knot/bow.
   • He was an artist with the language, a craftsman who could tie paragraphs together the way sailors tie a slip knot.
   • The final part provides diagrams showing just how to tie those 85 knots.
   • I of course immediately asked him how many knots he could tie.
4. 1.4no object Be fastened with a knot or bow.
   a sarong which ties at the waist

2with object Restrict or limit (someone) to a particular situation or place.

3with object Connect; link.

1. 3.1 Hold together by a crosspiece or tie.
   ceiling joists are used to tie the rafter feet
2. 3.2Music Unite (written notes) by a tie.
3. 3.3Music Perform (two notes) as one unbroken note.

4no object Achieve the same score or ranking as another competitor or team.

1A piece of string, cord, or similar used for fastening or tying something.

1. 1.1US A shoe tied with a lace.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • It had to be untied, loose ties with fat laces, always spotlessly white.
   • Roper also offers custom-designed ties for larger customers' needs.

2A rod or beam holding parts of a structure together.

1. 2.1North American
   short for cross tie

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Then too, there was the railroad equipment itself, which it hoped to sell: rails, ties, cars, and locomotives.
   • He made it out of four railroad ties, the 8 x 12 pieces of wood they lay down to support railroad tracks.
   • The planned upgrades include replacing sections of rail and replacing most of the rail ties.
   • The speed limit on this section of heavier rail on concrete ties is 110 mph for conventional Amtrak trains.
   • Colonel McDaniel said the base already spent $1 million of this money to replace some of the rails and rail ties.
   • CSX wasted no time dismantling the abandoned track as all rail and ties have been torn up and cleared from the property.
   • I remember the good old days on the Pullman sleepers when you could see the ties speeding by underneath you when you flushed the toilet.
   • Some concrete ties were labeled Koppers, others KSA.
   • Mine sized rail was laid on ties to standard gauge width.
   • The contamination in the soil in this project is mostly creosote, a product used on railway ties and telephone poles.
   • It was noted that they are currently working in the area placing double rails and new ties, along with other improvements.
   • Widely used in Europe and Japan, slab track connects track to a concrete slab instead of with traditional ties and ballast.
   • In 1900 alone, it's estimated that 15 to 20 million acres of forests were consumed to meet the demand for railroad ties.
   • Rail workers drove the nails into ties to keep the historical record of construction.
   • We are ordering the rail, the ties, the switches, and so forth that we need to carry out next year's reconstruction program.
   • The Katy was decommissioned in 1986 and its iron rails and wooden ties sold for scrap.
   • However, stacks of concrete ties and welded rail by the right of way indicated extensive upgrading.
   • This equipment also can be used to recycle railroad ties, telephone poles, pallets - all of which is removed from the nation's wastestream.
   • Wheels, axles and railroad ties were flung in all directions.
   • The grave was closed, and railroad ties were placed above it.
2. 2.2Music A curved line above or below two notes of the same pitch indicating that they are to be played for the combined duration of their time values.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • In a rush, he began writing, though he was careful as he drew in all of the notes and ties.
   • A curved line similar to the slur may be used to indicate a portamento effect; the same sign between two adjacent notes of the same pitch serves as a tie.

3usually tiesA thing that unites or links people.

1. 3.1 A thing that restricts someone's freedom of action.
   some cities and merchants were freed from feudal ties

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The study, by the independent market analyst Datamonitor, found that people freed from the ties of their offspring and often at the peak of their careers will splash out on lavish treats for themselves.
   • From the dissolution of feudal ties emerge squabbling subjects nursing secret grievances, haughtily guarding caste privileges, or jealously policing petty distinctions.
   • First, they must be free from feudal ties, which would otherwise prevent them from entering any sort of market transaction.
   • Hurst was also delighted to hear of Super League's decision to back his proposal for a board of directors free of club ties.
   • Now, everything about higher education is about pulling students back into these ties and constraints.
   • But he would not be teaching a monk, he would be teaching a boy without ties, without obligation.
   • The alleged problem has been that occasionally committee members have financial ties with companies producing the drugs or devices being examined.
   • That mantle fell instead upon the large middle-class house, in its own ample grounds but free from the ties of an estate.
   • As contemporary commercial manuals never tired of complaining, they were free from all guild ties and all state regulation.
   • Bourgeois monetary relations were breaking down the old feudal ties that had existed in England and which had been grounded in a largely subsistence agricultural economy.
   • They stayed in touch as they went on with their lives, but there were no fixed ties, no permanent commitments.
   • She doesn't have any ties or commitment to New York state.
   • The paper alleged 10 of the 32 committee members have financial ties to the pharmaceutical manufacturers involved.
   • Did Dr Ellis not feel that he should remain free of drug company ties?
   • However, following Government legislation relaxing the restrictive ties between pubs and the beer they sold, it has made less sense for breweries to hold onto these chains of pubs.
   • They should sort these problems out by talking frankly about the benefits of a thaw in their ties, free from constraints imposed by their formal positions.
   • Both are newcomers who claim to be free of special-interest ties.

   Synonyms

   restriction, curb, limitation, constraint, obligation, commitment, restraint, hindrance, check, obstruction, encumbrance, impediment, handicap

4A strip of material worn round the collar and tied in a knot at the front with the ends hanging down, typically forming part of a man's smart or formal outfit.

5A result in a game or other competitive situation in which two or more competitors or teams have the same score or ranking; a draw.

1. 5.1Cricket A game in which the scores are level and both sides have completed their innings, as distinct from a draw (a game left incomplete through lack of time).
   Example sentencesExamples

   • There was another thriller at Rowntrees when the game ended in a perfect tie with each side making 155-8.

6British A sports match between two or more players or teams in which the winners proceed to the next round of the competition.