Library / English Dictionary

TIE UP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Finish the last row

Synonyms:

bind off; tie up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tie up" is one way to...):

bind; tie (fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord)

Domain category:

knit; knitting; knitwork (needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles or by machine)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Secure with or as if with ropes

Example:

tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed

Synonyms:

bind; tie down; tie up; truss

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tie up" is one way to...):

confine; constrain; hold; restrain (to close within bounds, or otherwise limit or deprive of free movement)

"Tie up" entails doing...:

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tie up"):

chain up (tie up with chains)

faggot; faggot up; fagot (bind or tie up in or as if in a faggot)

faggot; fagot (fasten together rods of iron in order to heat or weld them)

hog-tie (tie together somebody's limbs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to tie up the prisoners

Sense 3

Meaning:

Secure in or as if in a berth or dock

Example:

tie up the boat

Synonyms:

berth; moor; tie up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tie up" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tie up"):

wharf (moor at a wharf)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Restrain from moving or operating normally

Example:

Traffic is tied up for miles around the bridge where the accident occurred

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tie up" is one way to...):

block; close up; impede; jam; obstruct; obturate; occlude (block passage through)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tie-up (an interruption of normal activity)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Invest so as to make unavailable for other purposes

Example:

All my money is tied up in long-term investments

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "tie up" is one way to...):

commit; invest; place; put (make an investment)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits