tie
/taɪ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A necktie (item of clothing consisting of a strip of cloth tied around the neck). See also bow tie, black tie.
noun
A twist tie, a piece of wire embedded in paper, strip of plastic with ratchets, or similar object which is wound around something and tightened.
noun
A connection between people or groups of people, especially a strong connection.
noun
noun
A horizontal wooden or concrete structural member that supports and ties together rails.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "Oxford ties; Derby ties"
- "[…] the tip of her russet boot almost grazed that of his Oxford tie."
- "the sacred ties of friendship or of duty"
- "the ties of allegiance; the ties that bind"
- "Occasions that reinforce the ties of kindred."
- "No distance breaks the tie of blood."
Etymology
From Middle English teye (“cord, chain”), from Old English tēag, tēah (“cord, chain”), from Proto-West Germanic *taugu, from Proto-Germanic *taugō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. Compare Danish tov, Icelandic taug.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *dewk-, teye, tēag, *taugu, *taugō, teien
Usage
- American usage
- British usage
- Transitive verb
- Colloquial
- Dated