# tie up

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/tie-up
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To occupy, detain, keep busy, or delay.

## Examples

- My work will tie me up until five o'clock.
- I cannot meet you for lunch because a long phone call is tying me up all morning.
- The unexpected legal dispute continued to tie up the company's assets, preventing them from investing in new projects for the remainder of the fiscal year.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.