tie

tie one on

To become drunk. Boy, we really tied one on last night, huh? Not feeling so great this morning. I began to realize he had a problem when he started tying one on most nights of the week, even when he had work the next morning.

See also: on, one, tie

tie the knot

To get married. An allusion to the handfasting ceremony, an ancient tradition of binding the hands of the bride and groom with lengths of cloth, cord, rope, etc., as a symbol of their lasting union. All of my friends have tied the knot and started having kids. John and Mary are tying the knot this summer in France.

See also: knot, tie

tie up

1. To bind, fasten, or secure someone or something with string, cord, rope, etc. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tie" and "up." Make sure you tie up the boats at the dock so they don't get swept down the river. Will you tie these bundles of paper up for me, please? Action movie heroes are always able to escape even after they get tied up.

2. To keep someone busy, occupied, or engaged. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tie" and "up." The meeting tied up all our staff for most of the afternoon. I just have a couple of questions, so I won't tie you up for too long.

3. To block, impede, or delay something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tie" and "up." The construction has been tying up traffic on Main Street for nearly a year now. They've tied our application up in court, so we haven't made any real progress lately.

4. To commit something to a particular use, thus making it unavailable for anything else. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tie" and "up." I wish I hadn't tied our savings up in that real estate scheme. We've tied up too many of our resources in this project already.

5. In a competition or contest, to achieve a score equal to one's opponent. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tie" and "up." Their best bet is to try to tie the game up before halftime. One more correct answer and you'll be able to tie up the score.

See also: tie, up

tie with (one) (for something)

To achieve the same result as one in some contest or competition. I tied with Jenny in the footrace. Ben won the tournament, while Tom tied with Jonathan for second place.

See also: tie

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

tie (with someone) (for something)

to have the same score as someone for the prize in some contest. I tied with Joel for first place. I tied for the trophy with Joel.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.