tie up — occupy resources
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
To have money, assets, or other resources committed or unavailable for use elsewhere, often due to investment, contracts, or obligations.
Say it like a native
Textbook A substantial portion of our capital is currently committed to property.
Native Most of our money's tied up in property.
'Tied up' is the natural way to say funds aren't available; the formal version is report-speak.
Pattern: tie up + noun (e.g. capital, funds, assets, resources)
In use
- A large portion of the company's capital is tied up in long-term investments.business
- One disadvantage of owning property is that a significant amount of your wealth can be tied up and not easily accessible for other opportunities.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ All my savings are tied up on the house.
✓ All my savings are tied up in the house.
Money is tied up IN something — not 'on'.
Common collocations
tie up + funds— in property, in stock, capital, your savings
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B2 sense ('finish the last details'), this sense is about resources being committed or locked in, not about completing tasks.
Related
- tie up (finish the last details) — 'tie up' also has the more basic meaning 'finish the last details'; this is the advanced sense.