What is "tying"

Tie \Tie\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tied(Obs. Tight); p. pr. & vb. n. Tying.] [OE. ti?en, teyen, AS. t[=i]gan, ti['e]gan, fr. te['a]g, te['a]h, a rope; akin to Icel. taug, and AS. te['o]n to draw, to pull. See Tug, v. t., and cf. Tow to drag.]

1. To fasten with a band or cord and knot; to bind. ``Tie the kine to the cart.''
   --1 Sam. vi. 7.

   My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
   --Prov. vi. 20,21.

2. To form, as a knot, by interlacing or complicating a cord; also, to interlace, or form a knot in; as, to tie a cord to a tree; to knit; to knot. ``We do not tie this knot with an intention to puzzle the argument.''
   --Bp. Burnet.

3. To unite firmly; to fasten; to hold.

   In bond of virtuous love together tied.
   --Fairfax.

4. To hold or constrain by authority or moral influence, as by knotted cords; to oblige; to constrain; to restrain; to confine.

   Not tied to rules of policy, you find Revenge less sweet than a forgiving mind.
   --Dryden.

5. (Mus.) To unite, as notes, by a cross line, or by a curved line, or slur, drawn over or under them.

6. To make an equal score with, in a contest; to be even with. To ride and tie. See under Ride. To tie down.

   1. To fasten so as to prevent from rising.

   2. To restrain; to confine; to hinder from action.

      To tie up, to confine; to restrain; to hinder from motion or action.

Tying \Ty"ing\, p. pr. of Tie.

Tying \Ty"ing\, n. (Mining) The act or process of washing ores in a buddle.

n. 1 action of the verb ''to tie''; ligature. 2 (context mining English) The act or process of washing ores in a buddle. vb. (present participle of tie English)

1. n. neckwear consisting of a long narrow piece of material worn (mostly by men) under a collar and tied in knot at the front; "he stood in front of the mirror tightening his necktie"; "he wore a vest and tie" [syn: necktie]

2. a social or business relationship; "a valuable financial affiliation"; "he was sorry he had to sever his ties with other members of the team"; "many close associations with England" [syn: affiliation, association, tie-up]

3. the finish of a contest in which the score is tied and the winner is undecided; "the game ended in a draw"; "their record was 3 wins, 6 losses and a tie" [syn: draw, standoff]

4. a horizontal beam used to prevent two other structural members from spreading apart or separating; "he nailed the rafters together with a tie beam" [syn: tie beam]

5. a fastener that serves to join or link; "the walls are held together with metal links placed in the wet mortar during construction" [syn: link, linkup, tie-in]

6. equality of score in a contest

7. (music) a slur over two notes of the same pitch; indicates that the note is to be sustained for their combined time value

8. one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track; "the British call a railroad tie a sleeper" [syn: railroad tie, crosstie, sleeper]

9. a cord (or string or ribbon or wire etc.) with which something is tied; "he needed a tie for the packages"

10. [also: tying]

1. v. fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord; "They tied their victim to the chair" [syn: bind] [ant: untie]

2. finish a game with an equal number of points, goals, etc.; "The teams drew a tie" [syn: draw]

3. limit or restrict to; "I am tied to UNIX"; "These big jets are tied to large airports"

4. connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces; "Can you connect the two loudspeakers?"; "Tie the ropes together"; "Link arms" [syn: connect, link, link up] [ant: disconnect]

5. form a knot or bow in; "tie a necktie"

6. create social or emotional ties; "The grandparents want to bond with the child" [syn: bind, attach, bond]

7. perform a marriage ceremony; "The minister married us on Saturday"; "We were wed the following week"; "The couple got spliced on Hawaii" [syn: marry, wed, splice]

8. make by tying pieces together; "The fishermen tied their flies"

9. unite musical notes by a tie

10. [also: tying]

n. the act of tying or binding things together [syn: ligature]

See tie

Tying may refer to:

• Fly tying, process of producing an artificial fly
• Knot tying, techniques of fastening ropes
• Tying (commerce), making customer buy one thing to get another
• Canine tying, part of dog reproduction

Tying (informally, product tying) is the practice of selling one product or service as a mandatory addition to the purchase of a different product or service. In legal terms, a tying sale makes the sale of one good (the tying good) to the de facto customer (or de jure customer) conditional on the purchase of a second distinctive good (the tied good). Tying is often illegal when the products are not naturally related. It is related to but distinct from freebie marketing, a common (and legal) method of giving away (or selling at a substantial discount) one item to ensure a continual flow of sales of another related item.

Some kinds of tying, especially by contract, have historically been regarded as anti-competitive practices. The basic idea is that consumers are harmed by being forced to buy an undesired good (the tied good) in order to purchase a good they actually want (the tying good), and so would prefer that the goods be sold separately. The company doing this bundling may have a significantly large market share so that it may impose the tie on consumers, despite the forces of market competition. The tie may also harm other companies in the market for the tied good, or who sell only single components.

One effect of tying can be that low quality products achieve a higher market share than would otherwise be the case.

Tying may also be a form of price discrimination: people who use more razor blades, for example, pay more than those who just need a one-time shave. Though this may improve overall welfare, by giving more consumers access to the market, such price discrimination can also transfer consumer surpluses to the producer. Tying may also be used with or in place of patents or copyrights to help protect entry into a market, discouraging innovation.

Tying is often used when the supplier makes one product that is critical to many customers. By threatening to withhold that key product unless others are also purchased, the supplier can increase sales of less necessary products.

In the United States, most states have laws against tying, which are enforced by state governments. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice enforces federal laws against tying through its Antitrust Division.