transitive verb
1. : to fasten or restrain with or as if with a tie
2. : to cause to be in a hindered, impaired, or inoperative condition
all week long … filibustering and Communist clamoring tied up the assembly — Time
a strike that would tie up the port — C.P.Curtis
3.
a. : to put in such a place or invest in such a manner as to make unavailable for other purposes
tie your money up in stocks
b. : to subject (property) to such restrictions or bring into such condition that alienation or sale is impossible
the will tied up the estate
4. : to connect closely : link
a striking window display tied up with an autographing party — Publishers' Weekly
5.
a. : to keep busy : preoccupy
tied up in conference all day
b. : to preempt the use of
tied up the phone for an hour
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to make a boat secure
we tied up … twenty-six hours after leaving — W.O.Douglas
b. : dock
warships … tie up together — New York Herald Tribune
2.
a. : to establish a close relationship
Christian counsels … tie up integrally with the civil law — Mary W. Hess
b. : to enter into a partnership
tie up with other advertisers