tied up
130
4.0
- idiom
:
ocupado
- I'm just tied up at work with a client for a little bit, But, yeah, I should be able to meet up soon.
Imagine your Border Protection agency on your southern border is tied up guarding detention centers.
- Imagine your Border Protection agency on your southern border is tied up guarding detention centers.
- Well, he was quite tied up in a way.
Examples
-
"I'm going to be tied up with this thing for the next few days at least."
Fiction book (1992) -
Got a feeling I'm going to be tied up out here most of the day.
Fiction book (1990) -
And your sense of self worth being totally tied up in that identity.
-
I'll be tied up for weeks at the hearing.
-
Besides, with everyone tied up with the celebrations, no one will notice you coming and going.
Fiction book (1991) -
The detectives are pretty much tied up at the moment.
Fiction book (2000) -
We have two more buyers coming in this afternoon, so I'll be tied up again.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Harry Medina wants to talk with you, but he's tied up for a while."
Fiction book (1999) -
I'm tied up.
-
I'm sorry, but I'm tied up with work and can't meet today.
Synonyms
114
5.2
Involved in something you did not plan and cannot easily leave
62
4.8
Very interested and completely involved in something
6
6.0
Closely connected with someone or something
Busy doing something and not free to do other things
Antonyms
How Busy
Surface Forms
Morphology
tie + up
The adjective 'tied up' meaning 'occupied/unavailable' is a metaphorical extension of 'tie' (to bind): if someone is figuratively bound they cannot do other things, so the intended sense is inferable from the parts. However, the particle 'up' and the shift to an adjectival state are not fully compositional, so while B1 learners can often guess the meaning, it is not purely transparent.
Etymology
Tied up comes from the simple image of being tied with a rope so you cannot move or help. So when people say they are tied up now, they mean they are 'busy' or 'unable to do something'.