tie

TY/taɪ/

Verbties, tying, tied

Noun pluralties

23 meanings of tie

Practice

1
fastenverbtransitive
To attach or fasten one thing to another using string, rope, or a similar material.
He tied the package to the back of his bicycle.
Tie the tarp to the railing so the wind can't lift it.
UsageUsually tie something to something: tie the dog to a post.
Similarfasten, attach, secure, lash, bind
Oppositeuntie, detach, unfasten, release
2
connectionnouncountable
A connection between people or groups, especially a strong or close one.
Trade created a lasting tie between the two nations.
He maintained close ties with the village where he grew up.
UsageMost often plural: close ties, strong ties, ties with a place or people.
Similarbond
Note
John Keble's The Christian Year (1827) gives the singular a classic pairing: "No distance breaks this tie of blood." Tie leans toward what holds people in place, a duty as much as an affection.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
John Keble wrote The Christian Year. gutenberg.org
The Christian Year was first published in 1827. en.wikipedia.org
The Christian Year contains the quoted words. gutenberg.org
3
neck clothingnouncountable
An item of clothing consisting of a strip of cloth worn knotted around the neck, typically over a collared shirt.
He loosened his tie the moment the ceremony ended.
The shop sells silk ties in more than a dozen colors.
UsageYou wear, put on, tie, or loosen a tie.
Similarnecktie
4
bind (duty)verbfigurativelytransitive
To bind or restrict someone or something to a place, commitment, or condition, as if fastening it with string.
The mortgage tied them to the house for decades.
A long contract can tie a player to one club for years.
UsageUsually passive with to: tied to a job, a house, a contract.
Similarbind, chain, tether, commit, shackle
Oppositefree, release, liberate
Note
The sense that slips most readily into metaphor, since what is tied down need not be held by string at all. Dryden's Astraea Redux (1660) praises a ruler "not tied to rules of policy."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
John Dryden wrote Astraea Redux, first published in 1660. upload.wikimedia.org
Astraea Redux praises a ruler using the quoted words. poets.org
5
drawnouncountable
A result in a game, contest, or vote in which two or more participants finish with equal scores or positions.
The vote ended in a tie, forcing the council into a runoff.
Two climbers shared first place in a rare tie.
UsageCommon in end in a tie and a tie for first place.
Similardraw
Note
Draw is the usual synonym, but not everywhere. Cricket keeps the two words strictly apart: a tie means equal runs once all innings are complete, while a draw is a match left unfinished.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
In cricket, a tie requires equal scores after all innings have been completed. lords.org
A cricket draw occurs when the allotted playing time ends without the innings necessary for a decisive result being completed. en.wikipedia.org
6
make a knotverbtransitive
To make a knot or bow in a string, rope, lace, or similar material, or to fasten it by knotting.
She tied a double knot so the lace wouldn't come undone.
Tie a loop at this end of the fishing line.
UsageCommon with knot, bow and laces: tie a knot, tie your shoelaces.
Oppositeuntie, undo
7
cup matchnounBritishcountable
A scheduled match between two players or teams in a competition, especially in a knockout round.
The fourth-round tie was rescheduled because of the weather.
United were drawn against City in the next tie.
UsageSays nothing about the result: a cup tie can be won by a wide margin.
Similarmatch, fixture, game
Note
British sporting English uses the word for the fixture itself, especially in cup competitions: "The FA Cup third round tie between Liverpool and Cardiff." Here it says nothing about the result, and a cup tie can be won by a wide margin.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Liverpool and Cardiff have played each other in the FA Cup third round, so the example describes a real possible fixture. en.wikipedia.org
8
cordnouncountable
A knot, cord, strip, or wire used to fasten something or hold it closed.
He closed each trash bag with a twist tie before carrying it out to the curb.
The sack was closed with a quick tie at the top.
UsageOften in compounds: twist tie, cable tie, zip tie.
Similarfastener, fastening
9
pull evenverbtransitive
To achieve the same score or position as another competitor in a game, contest, election, or ranking.
Detroit tied Chicago atop the division with that victory.
A single point would let them tie the league leaders.
UsageThe opponent can be the direct object: Detroit tied Chicago. Tied with Chicago works for all readers.
Similarequal, match

Less common meanings

10
score to levelnounUScountable
A run, goal, point, or similar score that brings competitors to an equal standing.
With her team trailing 2–1, she scored the tie in the final minute, forcing overtime.
The team needed one more basket for the tie.
Similarequalizer
Note
American sports English can use the noun for the scoring play itself, not just the resulting state. In Scott Glabb's A Saint in the City (2010), a wrestling coach realizes too late that José "already scored a tie."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Scott Glabb wrote A Saint in the City. cui.edu
The book contains the quoted words about José, in a coach's account of realizing the score too late. en.wiktionary.org
11
rail sleepernounUScountable
A horizontal wooden or concrete structural member that supports the rails of a railroad and holds them together.
The crew laid a fresh tie beneath the worn section of track.
Rotted ties were pulled out and replaced before winter.
UsageBritish railways call it a sleeper.
Similarsleeper
Note
American railroad usage for the cross-pieces under the track. Ties are commonly wooden or concrete and do two jobs at once: they carry the rails and hold them together, which is exactly what the name says. Track crews speak of pulling and replacing rotted or worn ties one section at a time.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
American railroads call these cross-pieces ties or crossties. en.wikipedia.org
Ties support the rails and maintain their spacing. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Worn ties are removed and replaced progressively along the track. bnsf.com
Rotted wooden ties are replaced. en.wikipedia.org
12
statisticsnouncountable
An occurrence of equal values, or groups of equal values, within a set of data.
The analyst handled each tie by giving the equal values an average rank.
Several ties in the sample made the ranking harder to compute.
Note
In statistics a tie is a practical nuisance. Distinct values take separate places in a ranking, while equal values need a rule for sharing ranks. The usual remedy is to give each tied observation the average of the ranks the values would share. Two values competing for fifth and sixth place, for instance, both receive a rank of 5.5.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Distinct values have distinct ranks, but ranking methods can accommodate equal values through several established rules. stat.ethz.ch
Assigning each tied observation the average of its occupied ranks is conventional in statistical ranking. support.sas.com
Under the average-rank convention, observations tied for ranks five and six each receive 5.5, since (5 + 6) / 2 = 5.5. itl.nist.gov
13
bracenouncountable
A structural member that keeps two parts from pulling apart, as in a roof truss or masonry wall.
Each tie in the truss resists the tension that would spread the rafters apart.
Engineers specified steel ties to bind the masonry walls together.
Oppositestrut
Note
In building, this is the piece whose whole job is to hold. A tie keeps two parts from pulling away from each other, as in a truss whose rafters would otherwise spread. Builders count ties among the things that keep a structure intact in windstorms and earthquakes.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
A building tie resists tension and holds parts together. en.wikipedia.org
Roof ties prevent opposing rafters from spreading. fhwa.dot.gov
Structural ties help buildings resist windstorms and earthquakes. basc.pnnl.gov
14
music curvenouncountable
A curved line connecting two notes of the same pitch, indicating they should be played as one note lasting the combined length of both.
A tie joins the half note to the quarter note, giving a single sustained sound.
The editor noticed a missing tie between the two whole notes.
Note
Music's version of the knot fuses two notes of the same pitch, so the player sounds the note once and holds it for both values. The matching pitch is what makes the line a tie. It is the usual way to carry a sustained note across a bar line, and the same word serves as the verb for drawing one.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Tied notes sound as one note lasting the sum of their written durations. en.wikipedia.org
A tie connects notes of identical pitch. open-musictheory.github.io
Ties carry sustained notes across bar lines. open.edu
15
join notesverbtransitive
To join two adjacent notes of the same pitch with a curved line in written music, so that they sound as one sustained note.
Composers often tie notes across a bar line to sustain a phrase.
She tied the final two notes to extend the resolution.
Similarjoin, connect, link
16
verbdatedUStransitive
To believe or give credit to something.
As the door slammed Pete turned to Hally, fuming. "Can you tie that? A little twopenny cold frightening him off."
1940, Woman's Home Companion, numbers 1-4
Similarbelieve, credit, accept, buy, trust
Oppositedoubt, disbelieve
Note
Colloquial speech of an older America, and almost always a question: "Can you tie that?", meaning "can you believe it?" It turns up in Collier's in 1929 and in Woman's Home Companion in 1940. It voices amused or exasperated disbelief rather than plain belief.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
This is an older American colloquial sense meaning believe or credit. en.wiktionary.org
The sense appears in Collier's in 1929. en.wiktionary.org
The sense appears in Woman's Home Companion in 1940. en.wiktionary.org
17
noundated
A low-cut shoe that is fastened with laces.
18
noun
A connection between two points, or vertices, in a graph.
19
noun
A curved line connecting two letters (⁀), used in the IPA to show that the sounds are pronounced together as one.
20
noun
A bearing and distance from a lot corner or point to a benchmark or marker located off the site.
21
noun
A knot of hair, such as one gathered at the back of a wig.
22
noun
A wig whose hair is gathered into a knot or bound queue at the back.
23
verb
In the Perl programming language, to extend a variable so that standard operations on it trigger custom behavior instead.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of tie apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 2–3, 5, 7–8, 10–14

From Middle English teye ("cord, chain"), from Old English tēag or tēah ("cord, chain"), going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root *dewk-.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

The noun tie derives from Middle English teye, meaning cord or chain. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English teye derives from Old English tēag or tēah, meaning cord or chain. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry passes through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 1, 4, 6, 9, 15–16

Icelandic teygja is a cognate of this verb, which began as Old English tīġan or tīeġan and became Middle English teien. Its line runs back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to *dewk-, a root in Proto-Indo-European meaning "to tug, draw."