# tie

Pronunciation: say "TY" /taɪ/

## Verb

1. To attach or fasten one thing to another using string, rope, or a similar material.
   - Simple: To join one thing to another using string, rope, or cord.
   - _He tied the package to the back of his bicycle._
   - _Tie the tarp to the railing so the wind can't lift it._
4. To bind or restrict someone or something to a place, commitment, or condition, as if fastening it with string.
   - Simple: To keep someone or something fixed to a place, job, or person, as if with rope.
   - _The mortgage tied them to the house for decades._
   - _A long contract can tie a player to one club for years._
6. To make a knot or bow in a string, rope, lace, or similar material, or to fasten it by knotting.
   - Simple: To make a knot or bow in string, rope, or laces.
   - _She tied a double knot so the lace wouldn't come undone._
   - _Tie a loop at this end of the fishing line._
15. To join two adjacent notes of the same pitch with a curved line in written music, so that they sound as one sustained note.
   - Simple: To join two notes of the same pitch with a curved line so they are played as one long note.
   - _Composers often tie notes across a bar line to sustain a phrase._
   - _She tied the final two notes to extend the resolution._
9. To achieve the same score or position as another competitor in a game, contest, election, or ranking.
   - Simple: To have the same score or place as someone else in a game or competition.
   - _Detroit tied Chicago atop the division with that victory._
   - _A single point would let them tie the league leaders._

## Noun

2. A connection between people or groups, especially a strong or close one.
   - Simple: A close link between people or groups, often built on family, friendship, or shared interests.
   - _Trade created a lasting tie between the two nations._
   - _He maintained close ties with the village where he grew up._
3. An item of clothing consisting of a strip of cloth worn knotted around the neck, typically over a collared shirt.
   - Simple: A strip of cloth that a person wears knotted around the neck, usually with a shirt.
   - _He loosened his tie the moment the ceremony ended._
   - _The shop sells silk ties in more than a dozen colors._
5. A result in a game, contest, or vote in which two or more participants finish with equal scores or positions.
   - Simple: A result where two or more players, teams, or sides end with the same score.
   - _The vote ended in a tie, forcing the council into a runoff._
   - _Two climbers shared first place in a rare tie._
7. A scheduled match between two players or teams in a competition, especially in a knockout round. *(British)*
   - Simple: A game or match between two players or teams in a competition.
   - _The fourth-round tie was rescheduled because of the weather._
   - _United were drawn against City in the next tie._
8. A knot, cord, strip, or wire used to fasten something or hold it closed.
   - Simple: A knot, string, wire, or plastic strip used to hold things together or keep something 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._
10. A run, goal, point, or similar score that brings competitors to an equal standing. *(US)*
   - Simple: A score that brings two teams or players level again.
   - _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._
11. A horizontal wooden or concrete structural member that supports the rails of a railroad and holds them together. *(US)*
   - Simple: A heavy wooden or concrete beam that holds railroad rails in place.
   - _The crew laid a fresh tie beneath the worn section of track._
   - _Rotted ties were pulled out and replaced before winter._
12. An occurrence of equal values, or groups of equal values, within a set of data.
   - Simple: When two or more values in a set of data are exactly equal.
   - _The analyst handled each tie by giving the equal values an average rank._
   - _Several ties in the sample made the ranking harder to compute._
13. A structural member that keeps two parts from pulling apart, as in a roof truss or masonry wall.
   - Simple: A bar, beam, or rod that holds two parts firmly together.
   - _Each tie in the truss resists the tension that would spread the rafters apart._
   - _Engineers specified steel ties to bind the masonry walls together._
14. A curved line connecting two notes of the same pitch, indicating they should be played as one note lasting the combined length of both.
   - Simple: A curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch so they sound as one longer note.
   - _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._

## Verb

16. To believe or give credit to something. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: To believe something, or to trust that it is true.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A low-cut shoe that is fastened with laces.
- (noun) A connection between two points, or vertices, in a graph.
- (noun) A curved line connecting two letters (⁀), used in the IPA to show that the sounds are pronounced together as one.
- (noun) A bearing and distance from a lot corner or point to a benchmark or marker located off the site.
- (noun) A knot of hair, such as one gathered at the back of a wig.
- (noun) A wig whose hair is gathered into a knot or bound queue at the back.
- (verb) In the Perl programming language, to extend a variable so that standard operations on it trigger custom behavior instead.

## Origin

**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-.
**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."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tie (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).