ties

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tie.

   The closet was full of patterned ties he rarely wore.

   Several matches ended in ties after extra time.

   Note

   One plural covers a whole family of things that bind: knots, neckties, the twist ties on a bag, and the bonds between people, as in family ties. In older usage it can also mean laced low shoes. The same spelling is also the verb's present form, so in "he ties his ties" the verb and the noun sit side by side. A determiner such as the, his or several marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tie.

   The chef ties the bundle of herbs together with string.

   She ties back her hair before stepping into the lab.

   Note

   Beyond knots and fastenings, this form also carries the scoring meaning. A team ties with its rival, or, in American usage, ties its rival outright, with no preposition. That direct-object pattern is the US one. Elsewhere, ties with or ties for (first place) is the safer choice. The subject tells you this is the verb and not the spelling it shares with the plural noun.

3. 3
   noundatedcountable

   Low shoes fastened with laces over the foot.

   The cobbler resoled his worn ties before the winter set in.

   She kept a polished pair of ties for Sunday outings.

   Note

   A dated name for footwear that a modern reader will usually misread, because ties now suggests neckties first. In current writing it needs a frame to land as shoes: a pair of ties, a cobbler, resoling, the walk to church. Without that context, choose a plainer phrase such as laced shoes. Keep ties for period writing or for deliberately old-fashioned speech.

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