1. Secure with (or as if with) ropes in order to prevent movement or escape
   "tie up the old newspapers and bring them to the recycling shed";
   - tie down, bind, truss
    
2. Invest so as to make unavailable for other purposes
   "All my money is tied up in long-term investments"
    
3. Restrain from moving or operating normally
   "Traffic is tied up for miles around the bridge where the accident occurred"
    
4. Secure in or as if in a berth or dock
   "tie up the boat";
   - moor, berth
    
5. (knitting) finish the last row
   "She tied up the scarf edges neatly";
   - bind off
    
6. Occupy or engage completely
   "The phone lines were tied up all morning"

1. An interruption of normal activity
   "The accident caused a major tie-up on the highway";
   - stand, standstill
    
2. A social or business relationship
   "a valuable financial tie-up";
   - affiliation, association, tie

Derived forms: tied up, ties up, tie-ups, tying up

See also: bind

Type of: bind, block, close up, commit, confine, constrain, fasten, fix, halt, hold, impede, invest, jam, obstruct, obturate, occlude, place, put, relationship, restrain, secure, stop, tie