tie-up

UK: /ˈtaɪʌp/ US: (tī′up′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈtie-ˌup,  n. [countable]

1. a stopping or slowing of traffic, etc., due to an accident, storm, etc.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tie-up  (tī′up′), n. 

1. a temporary stoppage or slowing of business, traffic, telephone service, etc., as due to a strike, storm, or accident.
2. the act or state of tying up or the state of being tied up.
3. an involvement, connection, or entanglement:
   the tie-up between the two companies; his tie-up with the crime syndicate.
4. a mooring place;
   place where a boat may be tied up.
5. a cow barn with stalls.
6. a stall allotted to each cow in such a barn.

• noun, nominal use of verb, verbal phrase tie up 1705–15