tie
/taɪ/ noun, verb
- noun A knot; a fastening.
- noun A knot of hair, as at the back of a wig.
- noun A necktie (item of clothing consisting of a strip of cloth tied around the neck). See also bow tie, black tie.
- noun A lace-up shoe. “Oxford ties; Derby ties”
- noun A twist tie, a piece of wire embedded in paper, strip of plastic with ratchets, or similar object which is wound around something and tightened.
- noun A connection between people or groups of people, especially a strong connection. “the sacred ties of friendship or of duty”
- noun (construction) A structural member firmly holding two pieces together. “Ties work to maintain structural integrity in windstorms and earthquakes.”
- noun (rail transport, US) A horizontal wooden or concrete structural member that supports and ties together rails.
- verb (transitive) To twist (a string, rope, or the like) around itself securely. “Tie this rope in a knot for me, please.”
- verb (transitive) To form (a knot or the like) in a string or the like. “Tie a knot in this rope for me, please.”
- verb (transitive) To attach or fasten (one thing to another) by string or the like. “Tie him to the tree.”
- verb (transitive, sometimes figurative) To secure (something) by string or the like. “Tie your shoes.”
- verb (ambitransitive) To have the same score or position as another in a competition or ordering. “They tied for third place.”
- verb (US, transitive) To have the same score or position as (another) in a competition or ordering. “He tied me for third place.”
- verb (music) To unite (musical notes) with a line or slur in the notation.
- verb (US, dated, colloquial) To believe; to credit.
Synonyms
necktie bond sleeper draw fasten link bind affiliation association tie-up tie beam linkup tie-in standoff railroad tie crosstie connect link up attach marry wed splice
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English teye (“cord, chain”), from Old English tēag, tēah (“cord, chain”), from Proto-West Germanic *taugu, from Proto-Germanic *taugō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. Compare Danish tov, Icelandic taug.
From Middle English teien, teiȝen, from Old English tīġan, tīeġan, from Proto-West Germanic *taugijan, from Proto-Germanic *taugijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to tug, draw”). Cognate with Icelandic teygja.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A knot; a fastening.
- noun A bond; an obligation, moral or legal; as, the sacred ties of friendship or of duty; the ties of allegiance.
- verb To fasten with a band or cord and knot; to bind. "Tie the kine to the cart." 1 Sam. vi. 7.
- verb To form, as a knot, by interlacing or complicating a cord; also, to interlace, or form a knot in; as, to tie a cord to a tree; to knit; to knot. "We do not tie this knot with an intention to puzzle the argument." Bp. Burnet.
Etymology [AS. tege, t, tige. *64. See Tie, v. t.]
Etymology [OE. ti, teyen, AS. tigan, tiégan, fr. teág, teáh, a rope; akin to Icel. taug, and AS. teón to draw, to pull. See Tug, v. t., and cf. Tow to drag.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tie”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details