- (North American English also necktie)a long, narrow piece of cloth worn around the neck, especially by men, with a knot in front
- He was dressed impeccably in a suit and tie.
- They prefer their employees to wear a shirt and tie.
- a striped silk tie
Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashiona2- His tie was askew and his hair dishevelled.
- His tie was undone.
- a collar and tie
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- undone
- loose
- askew
- …
- wear
- knot
- tie
- …
- pin
- tack
- collar and tie
- jacket and tie
- shirt and tie
- …
Definitions on the go
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- a piece of string or wire used for fastening or tying something
- ties for closing plastic bags
- [usually plural] a strong connection between people or organizations
- family ties
- diplomatic/economic/bilateral ties
- emotional ties
- the ties of friendship
- tie with somebody/something The firm has close ties with an American corporation.
- Although he was raised as a Roman Catholic, he has cut his ties with the Church.
- tie between somebody/something There is a strong tie between her and her daughters.
- Ties between the two countries remain very strong.
- tie to somebody/something giant corporations with close ties to the administration
- Both sides agreed to strengthen political ties.
- They severed ties after a dispute.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsb2- The community was bound by family ties and a strong church.
- ties of kinship
- to establish diplomatic ties with China
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- close
- strong
- loose
- …
- have
- develop
- establish
- …
- tie between
- tie of
- tie to
- …
- a thing that limits somebody’s freedom of action
- He was still a young man and he did not want any ties.
- They have broken the ties that bound them.
- a situation in a game or competition when two or more players have the same score
- The match ended in a tie.
Extra ExamplesTopics Games and toysc2- There was a tie for first place.
- a tie between Egypt and France
- They snatched a dramatic 7–7 tie with Wales in the final match.
- The Chair has the casting vote in the event of a tie.
- There was a 129–vote tie between her and Alderman Scot.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + tie- end in
- result in
- break
- breaker
- game
- …
- tie between
- tie for
- (British English) a sports match, especially a football (soccer) match, that is part of a larger competition
- the first leg of the tie between Leeds and Roma
- They have a second round tie away to Ipswich Town.
- 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 noteTopics Musicc2
- (North American English) (British English sleeper)one of the heavy pieces of wood or concrete on which the rails (= metal bars) on a railway track are laidTopics Transport by bus and trainc2
clothes
for fastening
connection
limit
in game/competition
music
on railway
Word OriginOld English tīgan (verb), tēah (noun), of Germanic origin.
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