tying up

Verb

tie up (third-person singular simple present ties up, present participle tying up, simple past and past participle tied up)

1. To secure with rope, string, etc.
   • Don't forget to tie up your hair before you bake.
2. (idiomatic) To occupy, detain, keep busy, or delay.
   • He has been tying up the phone lines for hours now.
3. (idiomatic) To complete, finish, or resolve.
   • I'd like to tie up the project before I leave.
4. To immobilize a capital: make a capital investment that makes that capital unavailable.
   • Don't tie up your capital in aging accounts.