- 1 (North American English also necktie) a long narrow piece of cloth worn around the neck, especially by men, with a knot in front a collar and tie a striped silk tie see also black tie, bow tie, old school tie, white tie Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveundone, loose, askew, … verb + tiewear, knot, tie, … tie + nounpin, tack phrasescollar and tie, jacket and tie, shirt and tie, … See full entry See related entries: Accessories, Clothes for fastening
- 2a piece of string or wire used for fastening or tying something ties for closing plastic bags connection
- 3 [usually plural] a strong connection between people or organizations family ties the ties of friendship economic ties The firm has close ties with an American corporation. emotional ties Both sides agreed to strengthen political ties. Although he was raised as a Roman Catholic, he has cut his ties with the Church. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveclose, strong, loose, … verb + tiehave, develop, establish, … prepositiontie between, tie of, tie to, … See full entry restriction
- 4a thing that limits somebody’s freedom of action He was still a young man and he did not want any ties. in game/competition
- 5a situation in a game or competition when two or more players have the same score The match ended in a tie. compare draw Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + tieend in, result in tie + nounbreak, breaker, game, … prepositiontie between, tie for See full entry
- 6(British English) a sports match, especially a football (soccer ) match, that is part of a larger competition the first leg of the Cup tie between Leeds and Roma See related entries: Soccer music
- 7 a curved line written over two notes of the same pitch (= how high or low a note is) to show that they are to be played or sung as one note See related entries: Reading music on railway
- 8(North American English) (British English sleeper) one of the heavy pieces of wood or concrete on which the rails on a railway/railroad track are laid See related entries: Railway tracks and stations Word OriginOld English tīgan (verb), tēah (noun), of Germanic origin.Extra examples His tie was askew and his hair dishevelled. His tie was undone. There is a strong tie between her and her daughters. There was a tie for first place. They have broken the ties that bound them. We have close economic ties with other countries in the region. We have close economic ties with our neighbours. a black-tie dinner a tie between Egypt and France ties of kinship to establish diplomatic ties with China He finished in a tie for 16th place, 11 shots behind the winner. He is aiming to be fit for the Davis Cup tie with France in February. It was the first leg of the Cup tie between Leeds and Roma. The Chair has the casting vote in the event of a tie. The community was bound by family ties and a strong church. There was a 129–vote tie between her and Alderman Scot. They have a second round tie away to Ipswich Town. They snatched a dramatic 7–7 tie with Wales in the final match. the ties of friendship/kinship
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//taɪ//; NAmE NAmE//taɪ//
Soccer, Railway tracks and stations, Accessories, Clothes, Reading music
Check pronunciation: tie
